The rocket of the starship SpaceX ( Starship ) successfully entered Earth's orbit for the first time, but there were no lack of setbacks along the way.

This giant rocket was launched early Monday morning from southern Texas, and all initial checks during the takeoff phase indicated that the launch was progressing smoothly. However, not long after the upper stage of the spacecraft separated, it lost one Raptor engine.

Although the starship was still able to enter orbit with one engine less, SpaceX initially halted this attempt, but a few minutes later decided to continue with the propulsion.

Entering orbit is a key milestone, which may mark the beginning of SpaceX's use of the Starship for regular commercial missions. More importantly, it takes another step towards making this giant rocket fully reusable. Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, is reorganizing the entire company around the Starship; the Starship has become the core of the company's ambitions to carry out NASA lunar missions and to send data center satellites into orbit, among other more ambitious goals.

Before launch, SpaceX originally planned for the upper segment of the starship to orbit the Earth 6 times within 9 hours, while deploying 26 third-generation Starlink satellites into the company's internet satellite constellation. It is currently unclear whether this plan has been adjusted due to the delay in entering Earth orbit.

The company has also made progress in getting the Super Heavy booster back to the launch pad. A few minutes into flight, the rocket separated from the upper stage of the starship, and the booster returned to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, completing a simulated landing on the water surface. This was the cleanest simulated landing among the V3 version starships that have been under testing since May by SpaceX.

This article is still being updated...