SpaceX successfully launched its Starship V3 for the first time during a test flight that met most of its objectives. The launch followed a delay due to a technical issue with a hydraulic pin on May 21, which prevented the spacecraft’s tower arm from retracting. The launch occurred on May 22 at 6:30 PM Eastern time from Starbase in Texas.
All 33 of the Super Heavy booster’s new Raptor 3 engines ignited during takeoff. However, one engine shut down during ascent. Despite this, Starship continued flying until the two stages were set to separate. The booster performed a directional flip maneuver but failed to ignite all engines for a successful boostback burn, completing only a partial burn before crashing into the Gulf of Mexico.
SpaceX had no plans to recover this particular Super Heavy booster. The upper-stage Ship still reached its designated trajectory despite losing one of its six Raptor 3 engines. Approximately 30 minutes post-liftoff, it deployed 20 Starlink simulators and two modified Starlink satellites, which successfully captured images of the Ship in space.
Upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, the Ship gathered data on its heat shield performance. The vehicle executed maneuvers to test its rear flap and simulate future mission trajectories. After conducting a landing flip and burn using two Raptor engines, the Ship splashed down and subsequently exploded in the Indian Ocean.
Elon Musk congratulated the team on the test flight, calling it “an epic first Starship V3 launch and landing.” Musk stated that the team “scored a goal for humanity.” This test flight is viewed as a significant achievement ahead of SpaceX’s IPO, with the company having publicly filed its paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and shares projected to start trading on June 12.
