SpaceX stock closed 2.16% lower at $145.47 after Starship reached Earth orbit for the first time during its 14th integrated test flight on September 28. The spacecraft launched from Starbase, Texas, at 7:48 a.m. Central Time and deployed 26 operational Starlink V3 satellites, marking Starship’s first commercial payload mission. The flight ended after roughly three hours because of an engine issue during ascent, followed by atmospheric reentry and a planned ocean return sequence near Hawaii. SPCX shares later traded around $148.61 after recovering from an intraday low near $145.50 and approaching $149.70. Starship offers substantially more payload capacity than Falcon 9, supporting SpaceX’s plans to deploy larger generations of Starlink satellites. The mission followed an aborted Flight 13 attempt in July, while future tests will continue work on orbital operations and vehicle reusability. SpaceX is also developing Starship for lunar missions and other heavy-lift operations, including a vehicle NASA plans to use in its Artemis lunar program.