SpaceX launches first Starship V3
Posted: Sat, May 23, 2026, 8:37 AM ET (1237 GMT)
SpaceX launched the newest version of its Starship vehicle Friday on a suborbital test flight. Starship lifted off from the company’s facility at Starbase, Texas, at 6:30 pm EDT (2230 GMT) on the Flight 12 suborbital mission after problems with the launch tower scrubbed a launch attempt Thursday. The vehicle flew a suborbital flight ending 66 minutes later with a soft splashdown by the Starship upper stage. During the flight both the Starship upper stage and Super Heavy booster suffered engine failures, which for Super Heavy prevented it from making a controlled descent after stage separation. Starship was able to deploy Starlink mass simulators during the suborbital flight. This was the first flight of Starship V3, with extensive upgrades to both stages along with a new launch tower. SpaceX plans to use Starship V3 for orbital missions as soon as later this year.
SpaceX launched the newest version of its Starship vehicle Friday on a suborbital test flight. Starship lifted off from the company’s facility at Starbase, Texas, at 6:30 pm EDT (2230 GMT) on the Flight 12 suborbital mission after problems with the launch tower scrubbed a launch attempt Thursday. The vehicle flew a suborbital flight ending 66 minutes later with a soft splashdown by the Starship upper stage. During the flight both the Starship upper stage and Super Heavy booster suffered engine failures, which for Super Heavy prevented it from making a controlled descent after stage separation. Starship was able to deploy Starlink mass simulators during the suborbital flight. This was the first flight of Starship V3, with extensive upgrades to both stages along with a new launch tower. SpaceX plans to use Starship V3 for orbital missions as soon as later this year.
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