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Photo and video by Theresa Doyle-Nelson
October 1, 2026
Starlink deploys Satellite Train
By Jessica Nohealapa’ahi
The Bandera Prophet
While sipping cappuccinos outside before the heat of the day reached its peak, Theresa and Chad Nelson witnessed an unexpected treat.
“(We) saw this string of diamonds soar through the sky,” Theresa Doyle-Nelson, of Pipe Creek, said. “We can only assume it was SpaceX’s Starlink satellites.”
SpaceX’s Starship rocket flew into orbit over South Texas early Monday morning. Starship Flight 14, named for the 14th test flight, boomed into the stratosphere from Starbase, SpaceX’s private spaceport and launch site in Boca Chica, near Brownsville, at 7:49 a.m.
Several minutes after the launch, the Super Heavy first-stage made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf, just off the coast of Starbase. The upper stage continued its climb into space, reaching an inaugural orbit at 171 miles altitude, and deploying a batch of 26 Starlink V3 satellites.
The mission was aborted after about three hours in orbit, ending with a controlled splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, north of Hawaii, according to Spaceflight Now.
“It was impressive,” Doyle-Nelson said.
“(We) saw this string of diamonds soar through the sky,” Theresa Doyle-Nelson, of Pipe Creek, said. “We can only assume it was SpaceX’s Starlink satellites.”
SpaceX’s Starship rocket flew into orbit over South Texas early Monday morning. Starship Flight 14, named for the 14th test flight, boomed into the stratosphere from Starbase, SpaceX’s private spaceport and launch site in Boca Chica, near Brownsville, at 7:49 a.m.
Several minutes after the launch, the Super Heavy first-stage made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf, just off the coast of Starbase. The upper stage continued its climb into space, reaching an inaugural orbit at 171 miles altitude, and deploying a batch of 26 Starlink V3 satellites.
The mission was aborted after about three hours in orbit, ending with a controlled splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, north of Hawaii, according to Spaceflight Now.
“It was impressive,” Doyle-Nelson said.