SpaceX's Starship reaches orbit for first time, returns early

SpaceX's Starship rocket reached orbit for the first time Monday, launching from South Texas and deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites. It was planned to orbit Earth six times before splashing down in the Pacific near Chile, but SpaceX decided to bring it back early; one source said the decision came a little over an hour into the flight, while another cited about three hours. An explosion was visible on SpaceX's livestream just after touchdown. The cause was not immediately explained.