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Starship came home almost 7 hours early. Now we know why. In its Flight 14 recap, SpaceX finally explained it: one Raptor vacuum engine shut down early during the climb to orbit. 26 minutes to orbit. 26 satellites. 3 hours 9 minutes. What happened: • Starship lost one of its six engines on the way up • The other five burned longer to make up the lost thrust • The team checked the three sea level engines, found them healthy, and went for orbit • It reached orbit for the first time and deployed all 26 Starlink V3 satellites SpaceX's words: "Out of an abundance of caution given the engine issue experienced during ascent, the flight control team decided to limit the duration spent on orbit." Then it did its first ever deorbit burn and splashed down on target in the Pacific. The part most people missed: This was planned as a 10 hour, six orbit mission. Losing an engine and still making orbit is the real headline. Coming home early was a choice, not a failure. As a developer, this is the call I respect most: ship what you came for, and don't gamble the rest. The catch: SpaceX still hasn't said why the Raptor vacuum engine shut down. Getting to orbit is the hard part. Knowing when to come home is the smart part. Would you have kept flying for the full 10 hours?

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