Starship entering 'peak heating region of entry'published at 16:51 BST
Image source, SpaceXStarship is entering the "peak heating region of entry" as it returns to Earth, the SpaceX communications team say.
Summary
SpaceX's Starship rocket is now on its way back to Earth after orbiting the planet
The SpaceX team decided to end the mission early, and the craft is soon expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean after a three-hour flight
The ship deployed 26 "next generation" Starlink V3 satellites, that join the existing constellation which deliver broadband internet on Earth
Earlier, there was drama as engineers had to decide if they would send the rocket to orbit after an engine issue. Our science reporter explains sending it to orbit makes it more dangerous
SpaceX describes Starship as "the world's most powerful launch vehicle ever developed" and says it will eventually carry crew and cargo "to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond"
Watch: SpaceX launches Starship rocket into orbit for first time
Starship entering 'peak heating region of entry'published at 16:51 BST
Image source, SpaceXStarship continuing re-entry and flaps now in control - SpaceXpublished at 16:46 BST
Image source, SpaceXThe Starship is continuing with its re-entry and "flaps now have control of the vehicle", SpaceX says in its latest update on its livestream.
Starship begins re-entering Earth's atmospherepublished at 16:36 BST
We're now seeing Starship beginning to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere on the live stream.
If everything goes smoothly, we'll see it splash down in the Pacific Ocean in about 20 minutes.
You can watch live at the top of the page.
'Incredibly impressive' de-orbit burn saves rocket from being stuck in spacepublished at 16:29 BST
If the Starship's engines hadn't engaged in the de-orbit burn and it hadn't happened effectively, the consequences would have been that the Starship could have stayed orbiting Earth, science journalist Caroline Steel tells the BBC.
This would add to the space junk problem that we have, she says.
SpaceX "really only wanted to keep orbiting if they were sure they would be able to get the Starship back down to earth", she adds.
"That was incredibly impressive seeing how small and short that engine blast was to get the rocket back down to Earth. Tiny changes in angles and speeds really add up over time."
Steel explains now the rocket is going in a slightly different direction, and the gravitational pull will bring it back down to Earth.
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Please rate this from 1 to 5, where 1 means difficult, 3 means neutral, and 5 means easyYour feedback helps us improve how live pages workA 'light show' expected in 30 minutespublished at 16:09 BST
SpaceX has just given another update on the timeline.
The team expects a "light show" to start within the next 30 minutes, as Starship moves through the upper parts of Earth's atmosphere.
We can expect to see the plasma build up as Starship makes its way through.
The "formal entry point" is expected about two hours and 47 minutes into the flight, according to the live stream host. That is about 30 minutes from now.
SpaceX is targeting a landing at around three hours, eight minutes and 30 seconds into the flight, the host adds.
We will continue to bring you updates, and you can watch live at the top of the page.
Starship begins de-orbit burnpublished at 16:02 BST
Image source, SpaceXStarship is now starting its de-orbit burn, about two hours and 12 minutes into the flight.
It is set to splash down in the Pacific Ocean in about an hour.
It was supposed to de-orbit about nine hours into the mission.
SpaceX has announced that the mission is ending early, with the ship reaching its first checkpoint about 90 minutes into the flight.
Starship preparing de-orbit burnpublished at 15:58 BST
Starship is preparing for its de-orbit burn, says SpaceX on social media.
The burn will last about 11 seconds, marking the start of its return to Earth.
Nasa chief congratulates SpaceX on missionpublished at 15:58 BST
Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman has congratulated SpaceX on its Starship mission.
Writing on X he said it was a, external "gorgeous launch, getting Ship to orbit and managing every step in a safe, responsible, and especially inspirational way".
He added that Nasa is "excited to help where we can and for Starship missions to become routine!"
In 2024, Isaacman became the first non-professional astronaut to walk in space.
Starlink satellites delivered into orbit will 'greatly' increase user speeds - SpaceXpublished at 15:52 BST
Image source, SpaceXImage caption, The first new satellite exits the side of the Starship rocket
Starlink satellites delivered into orbit will 'greatly' increase user speeds – SpaceX
One of the objectives of the mission, which has already been completed, was the delivery of 26 "next generation" Starlink V3 satellites into orbit.
Those join the existing Starlink constellation in low Earth orbit which deliver broadband internet on Earth.
The new satellites added today will "greatly expand the network's capacity and user speeds", SpaceX says.
As we reported earlier, the satellites were carried into orbit by the Starship. After exiting the Starship they unfold their antennas and make initial contact with the ground and the rest of the satellite constellation via radio and laser links, SpaceX says.
Starship to start deorbit burn in about 40 minutespublished at 15:26 BST
Despite returning the craft early, the SpaceX host says: "this has been a wildly successful day so far".
All 26 Starlink V3 satellites have been deployed, as we reported earlier.
In an updated timeline, the host says the deorbit burn will happen around two hours and 12 minutes into the flight. That is about 40 minutes from now.
Starship is then set to land in the Pacific Ocean a little over three hours into the mission.
For now, Starship is in orbit and will remain there, the host says.
Starship mission to end earlypublished at 15:22 BST
The SpaceX livestream host has just said that Starship will return to Earth earlier than the planned 10-hour flight in space.
"We are looking like we are going to take our first checkpoint and come back early," the host says. "Essentially all that means is we're not going to spend as many orbits around Earth."
We’ll bring you more on this soon.
'Some discussion' on whether mission will end earlypublished at 15:01 BST
As we've just mentioned, the SpaceX team will decide within 20 minutes whether Starship will return home early.
According to the livestream, "some discussions" are under way. The mission had planned to have the rocket orbit the Earth six times.
"We're only going to continue if we're really confident that everything's looking healthy on those key systems," the SpaceX livestream host says. "A couple of minutes to go until we get to that point."
All 26 satellites deployed as mission turns to orbit focuspublished at 14:54 BST
Image source, SpaceXImage caption, The light dots in the background are satellites that have just been deployed
All 26 Starlink V3 satellites have now been deployed from Starship.
SpaceX says it is shortly going to reach it's initial checkpoint. That’s where the team can check everything and decide whether Starship needs to return early.
If nothing goes wrong, Starship will complete its six orbits as planned and return to Earth in about nine hours.
An orbit takes around 90 minutes.
Will the unexpected shutdown of one engine affect the mission?published at 14:40 BST
As we’ve been reporting, one of the six RVac engines shut down unexpectedly earlier, prompting a review of whether Starship should continue with its planned orbital insertion burn.
According to SpaceX's livestream, the RVac engines are not needed for the rest of the journey, but engineers need to review the health of the remaining engines, particularly the three sea-level engines.
The team has examined the indicators for those engines and decided they look healthy.
As a result, they voted for the operation to go ahead as planned.
From Texas to Africa, and set to land in the Pacific Oceanpublished at 14:33 BST
We are watching Starship spit out 26 Starlink satellites, one by one.
The rocket is now over Madagascar, after passing over the southern tip of South Africa, having been launched from Texas in the US.
If everything goes as planned, the ship will splash down in the Pacific Ocean, west of Chile, in just over nine hours.
The longer the flight time, the more data SpaceX can collectpublished at 14:30 BST
Georgina Rannard
Climate and science reporterThe test flight today could be as long as 10 hours as the Starship capsule attempts to loop around Earth six times.
Until now, all Starship flights have been suborbital, meaning the capsules were high enough to reach space, but did not travel fast enough or long enough to complete a loop around the Earth. Most of the previous flights were about one hour.
Today, Starship is travelling at about 275km above Earth in orbit, and the company want to push the craft to its limits. That will involve collecting data throughout the flight and deploying new generation Starlink satellites.
The longer Starship can spend in orbit, the more SpaceX can test the craft and collect valuable information.
The long flight should also allow the company to line the capsule up for a re-entry point near the west coast of Chile, but if required, it could end the flight earlier.
Starlink satellite deployment beginspublished at 14:24 BST
Image source, SpaceXSpaceX is now undertaking the next phase of today's mission. Starship is starting to deploy its payload - 26 Starlink V3 satellites.
The process is set to last about 30 minutes.
Three, two, one... lift-off!published at 14:22 BST
We can now bring you more images, showing the Starship spacecraft launching and it reaching space.
The launch sent a huge plume of smoke into the air, with the rocket splitting in half as planned within minutes of take off.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, SpaceX
Image source, SpaceXStarship is in orbit after successful insertion burnpublished at 14:15 BST
BreakingWe are now seeing the spaceship enter orbit as the orbital insertion burn begins. It's the first time the rocket has entered Earth's orbit.
It it due to go around Earth six times, and deploy 26 Starlink satellites.
Image source, SpaceXStarship to launch into orbit, SpaceX confirms after deliberationspublished at 14:11 BST
The SpaceX livestream has just confirmed that Starship will launch into orbit as planned.
It comes after one of the engines unexpectedly shut down and we heard some back and forth over whether they would send it to orbit Earth.
We will bring you further updates soon, and as a reminder, you can watch live above.
