The upper stage encountered a more significant problem when one of its three center Raptor engines shut down prematurely during ascent. SpaceX initially said it would not proceed to orbit, but engineers later determined the remaining systems could support an insertion maneuver.
Starship subsequently fired a single center Raptor for about 19 seconds, adding enough velocity to enter a stable orbit roughly 275 kilometers above Earth. The burn marked the first time a Starship vehicle completed orbital insertion.
Once in orbit, Starship deployed all 26 Starlink V3 satellites, its first operational payload. SpaceX said the satellites were functioning normally after deployment. The V3 spacecraft are larger than the Starlink V2 Mini satellites normally carried by Falcon 9 and are designed to provide roughly 10 times more data capacity per satellite.
Flight 14 had originally been designed to remain in orbit for nearly 10 hours and complete about six revolutions around Earth. SpaceX instead ended the mission after roughly three hours because of the ascent engine issue.