C-SPAN leaves Capitol Hill for Starship's first orbit
The launch video started at roughly nineteen times the pace of a typical new upload on the public affairs channel, even though the mission ended early.
C-SPANStory of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 186,679 views a day, 19 times a normal first day on this channel (9,840).
SpaceX launches Starship into orbit for first time
C-SPAN posted its Starship video on Monday, the same day the rocket flew. Within its first day it was running at about nineteen times the pace a new upload on the channel usually manages.
That is a big crowd for any C-SPAN video, and this one is far from the network's usual beat. Its cameras are best known for sitting in the House and Senate chambers, in committee rooms and at the White House. This time the subject was a rocket.
The video covers SpaceX's first orbital test flight, launched from South Texas that morning. Earlier Starship test flights had followed suborbital paths, which is what made this one a first. According to the description, the vehicle, which it calls the largest and most powerful ever developed, released its full load of new Starlink V3 satellites. It then splashed down on target in the Pacific, north of Hawaii.
The flight did not go entirely to plan. It was meant to circle Earth several times, and SpaceX cut the mission short after about three hours because of an engine failure.
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- Channel
- C-SPAN
- Subscribers
- 1,950,000
- Channel views, pace per day
- 2,292,223 (on a normal day: 1,693,606)
- Video published
- September 28, 2026
- Video views so far
- 55,226 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 186,679
The numbers
The figures show how far this launch video ran ahead of a typical first day on C-SPAN.
