SpaceX’s Starship Reaches Orbit Despite Engine Issue

SpaceX's massive Starship rocket has reached orbit for the first time deploying 26 upgraded v three Starlink satellites. The fourteenth test flight marks Starship's first successful satellite delivery and a major step towards routine launches to expand the Starlink network. But the mission wasn't without its problems. Let's get more now from Bloomberg's Danny Lee who joins us from Hong Kong. Danny, this was a milestone then for SpaceX, but what were the challenges that the mission faced? Well, this is a new Starship rocket, which is heavier and more powerful. So, with that in mind, it was able to lift, as you said, this new version three Starlink satellite. So it's much more powerful than version ones and version twos. It's the equivalent of, like, version one forty satellites, so, you know, much, much more capable. But as this did, you know, lift off overnight, there was a problem with one of the boosters that the engineers detected. They analyzed it, and they didn't feel it will cause too many issues. And as a result, it did. This rocket Starship rocket did go successfully into orbit and deliver its payload, its first revenue payload of 26 new version three Starlink satellites. So really important milestone. However, they did, a result, because of the engine issue, curtail the mission. So they ended after three hours instead of the expected ten hours. Overall, analysts are still very happy with what they saw because by this, the Starship rocket will be able to scale up and be more capable of delivering much bigger payloads at the end of the day. So what next then for the Starship program, Dani? Well, we are going to see, more frequent, launches and also just for the rocket itself. The fact that SpaceX will look to make this a reusable rocket, and because of its ability to deliver much heavier payloads and much heavier, more powerful satellites for the Internet from space, company, it is going to really help deliver a surge in earnings. Elon Musk has already flagged that it expects to see, Starlink deliver a much higher contribution, a jump in revenue as a result. And, of course, they have these grand plans for everything from, you know, everything from mobile, from space, kind of coverage, and also just this data orbital data centers as well. So there's a lot of more satellites they would need up in the sky if they are to achieve that, but this is really the first step on a much wider grand plan out there.