SpaceX launches Starship V3 test flight

SpaceX launched the first test flight of its Starship V3 vehicle from Starbase, Texas, on May 22, putting the redesigned rocket through its first full mission profile and deploying mock Starlink satellites before the ship broke up during landing. The company said the mission was the twelfth Starship flight test overall and the first to use both the V3 Super Heavy booster and V3 upper stage. The flight also marked the first use of Raptor 3 engines and the first Starship launch from the company’s Pad 2 at Starbase. The test was one of the clearest looks yet at the version of Starship SpaceX is developing for future deep-space and lunar missions. SpaceX said the vehicle released modified Starlink satellites intended to image Starship in space, while outside coverage described the overall mission as largely successful despite the failed landing sequence. NASA has separately said Starship hardware remains part of Artemis III and Artemis IV planning. (spacex.com) ### Why was this flight different from earlier Starship tests? SpaceX said this was the first flight of the third-generation Starship and Super Heavy vehicles, a new configuration that incorporates changes learned from earlier tests. On its V3 update page, the company said the new system is powered by Raptor 3 engines and launches from an entirely new pad. The company said the Super Heavy V3 booster includes larger grid fins and other structural and propulsion changes, while the Starship upper stage is part of a broader redesign aimed at improving performance and reusability. (spacex.com) SpaceNews reported that the first V3 mission was intended to complete most planned objectives on a suborbital flight. ### What exactly happened during the mission? At 5:30 p.m. (spacex.com) Central Time on May 22, Starship lifted off from Starbase, according to SpaceX’s flight page. The company said the mission deployed modified Starlink satellites to image the vehicle in space, a payload described in other coverage as 20 mock satellites. The flight then traveled roughly halfway around the world on a suborbital path. (spacex.com) Reuters coverage, as cited by other outlets, and U.S. newspaper reports described the mission as reaching a controlled splashdown phase in the Indian Ocean, while video coverage from The Guardian said the vehicle burst into flames during landing after releasing the mock satellites. That left the mission short of a clean end-to-end recovery. (spacex.com) ### Why does NASA care about this version of Starship? NASA said Starship is the human landing system it is developing with SpaceX for Artemis III, the mission intended to return astronauts to the Moon. NASA’s human landing system material says the Starship lunar lander is designed to carry astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface and back. In updated Artemis III planning released this month, NASA said the mission will test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft needed for a lunar landing. (desmoinesregister.com) NASA said it will announce more specific Artemis III mission design details and crew information closer to the planned 2027 launch. ### Did SpaceX call the test a success? (nasa.gov) SpaceX’s own post-flight page emphasized the milestones reached: first V3 flight, first Raptor 3 flight, first Pad 2 launch and first deployment of the modified Starlink imaging payload. Ars Technica reported that company officials appeared pleased with the result, and Elon Musk wrote on X that the team had achieved an “epic” launch and landing, even as other reports said the ship broke up during the ocean landing phase. (nasa.gov) SpaceNews described the mission as completing most planned objectives, while broader news coverage called it mostly successful rather than fully successful. That distinction reflects the split result: SpaceX demonstrated a major redesign in flight, but did not finish with an intact landing. ### What comes next after this test? NASA said Artemis III mission specifics will come closer to its 2027 launch target, and the agency has framed the Earth-orbit mission design now under review as a step toward later lunar landings. (spacex.com) SpaceX has not yet posted a date for the next Starship flight on its launches page, but the company’s V3 rollout and twelfth flight test indicate the next milestone will be another test of the upgraded system. (nasa.gov) (spacenews.com)