- September 30, 2026
- By Gregory Muraski
SpaceX’s Starship on Monday reached orbit for the first time and deployed 26 next‑generation communications satellites, marking a pivotal moment in the commercial space race and signaling rapid shifts in the economics of moving huge loads of cargo off the planet.
The largest and most powerful rocket ever flown, Starship lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas in the company’s latest bid to move commercial payloads into low-earth orbit (below 1,200 miles in altitude) where most satellites operate. Increasingly, they don’t just support government system but provide home internet and Wi-Fi on airplanes, and carry text messages to cell phones in places lacking cell towers.
In an interview following the launch, Jon Crocker, assistant dean for executive education at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, explained why the flight mattered for more than just SpaceX’s business. Crocker leads Space at Smith, an initiative that brings together academic and industry expertise to examine the commercial space economy.
Below, he offers insights into how Starship could reshape space commerce, defense procurement and the emerging economy of—and international competition for—low Earth orbit.
We have never seen commercial cargo moved into space in anything approaching this volume before. What does it mean?
This was indeed a big day for SpaceX. Even though they decided to cut the mission short after delivering the 26-satellite payload—but not completing the planned six complete orbits, likely due to partial engine failure—it revolutionizes the path to low Earth orbit. Some estimates have described the difference between a payload on the company’s previously largest rocket, the Falcon 9, and a Falcon Heavy/Starship payload as a factor of 20x. Meaning that once Starship is able to routinely achieve orbit and deliver payloads, the cost per kilogram will see exponential reductions.
What downstream industries will feel the effects of this new reality first?
The immediate beneficiaries will be SpaceX’s internal customer, Starlink, and priority customers like NASA and the Space Force. Third‑party customers who previously relied on rideshare opportunities—meaning their smaller payloads hitched a ride with primary payloads—may find that capacity reallocated. Ironically, while launch costs may fall, limited supply could push prices up for companies without their own launch capability—creating profit opportunities for SpaceX as well as competitors like Blue Origin and Rocket Lab.
How might the lowering of costs represented by Starship shift the geopolitical balance of commercial space power?
One of the themes during this year’s Space at Smith Symposium on Oct. 22 is that space will be increasingly congested and contested. While space is vast, low Earth orbit is a tightly constrained global commons that is being rapidly depleted. To enable satellite-based data, audio or video to your phone means a much lower orbit, and that is necessarily much more tightly constrained. The first to occupy and hold that “high ground” in low Earth orbit will have a commanding advantage.
What risks do we face in this competition?
While many companies or sponsoring nations may have plans for large satellite constellations, they may not have the capability to claim it as quickly as Starship. In human history, competition for scarce resources has often resulted in conflict. But one does not need to match Starship’s capacity to disrupt the environment: A single collision could create thousands of debris fragments and render low Earth orbit unusable for years. A cascade of collisions — accidental or deliberate — could make it unusable for centuries.
Starship plays a major role as NASA’s Human Landing System for its Artemis program. What does this launch signal about human space exploration?
A successful launch and equipment demonstration is undoubtedly good—just as the mishap during the recent New Glenn launch was not—but we should be cautious about letting a single data point define a trend. NASA has shown a willingness to adjust mission parameters in response to events, but it’s unlikely that Artemis III will be drastically altered based on one launch.
SpaceX still must demonstrate orbital refueling to reach the moon and must solve the engineering feat of landing a vertical column like Starship on the moon without tipping over. This milestone deserves celebration, but a lot of work is ahead for companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin and the United Launch Alliance.