STARBASE, Texas — SpaceX's Starship rocket reached orbit for the first time on Monday and deployed 26 of the company's newest Starlink satellites, a milestone for the largest rocket ever built, though mission managers cut the flight to about three hours from a planned 10. The ship had lost an engine on the way up, and SpaceX has not said what factored into the decision to shorten the flight. The vehicle's return to Earth, the riskiest part of the mission, was still ahead at the time of writing.

Starship lifted off from SpaceX's Starbase facility on the Texas Gulf Coast at about 8:48 a.m. Eastern time, or 7:48 a.m. local, after a launch that had been scheduled for 8:15 a.m. and was pushed back within a 75-minute window, NPR and ABC News reported. ABC put liftoff at 8:50 a.m. The mission was the 14th flight of the uncrewed vehicle and the first to reach orbit; the first 13 followed deliberately suborbital paths. To reach orbital speed, about 17,500 mph, the vehicle had to fly faster and higher than on any earlier test, NPR reported.

The Super Heavy booster separated and returned for a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico about seven minutes after liftoff, Space.com reported. The booster appeared to experience several engine shutdowns but nothing serious enough to affect the landing, and it fired five of its 33 engines for the final descent. CNN said it was not clear how soft the landing was, given engine issues during the return burn, and Starlust reported that unlike the previous flight, the booster relit only 31 of its 33........

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