The August 5, 2026, flight of SpaceX’s Starship marked a historic milestone: for the first time, the rocket successfully achieved Earth orbit. This breakthrough significantly advances the company’s goal of making space travel more routine. During this test, Starship also deployed a batch of Starlink V3 satellites. While the mission was successful, there were adjustments made based on previous attempts — SpaceX decided against using the mechanical arms of the launch tower to catch the Super Heavy booster after issues in Flight 13, opting instead for a soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
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