SpaceX's Starship rocket orbits Earth for first time

SpaceX's Starship rocket has orbited Earth for the first time, after lifting off from the US state of Texas.

It's the latest stage in the development of the rocket, which could be used for future missions to Mars and the Moon.

SpaceX say they hope the spacecraft - which is taking part in its 14th test flight - will be able to carry up to 100 people on "long-duration, inter-planetary flights".

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.

SpaceX has described 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."

The huge rocket - which stands at more than 100 metres tall - launched from the southern US state of Texas on Monday.

It was hoped that Starship would complete six loops of the Earth, however a few hours after the launch, the SpaceX team decided to return the craft to Earth earlier than the planned 10-hour flight in space.

They explained: "We are looking like we are going to take our first checkpoint and come back early.

"Essentially all that means is we're not going to spend as many orbits around Earth."

However, one of the aims of the mission, which was successfully completed, was the delivery of 26 "next generation" Starlink V3 satellites into orbit.

Starship is expected splash down in the Pacific Ocean, west of Chile in a few hours' time.