Overview
- SpaceX launched the first flight of its third‑generation Starship V3 from Pad 2 at Starbase, Texas, on May 22, 2026, debuting redesigned Raptor 3 engines and new pad hardware.
- The upper stage deployed 20 mock Starlink satellites plus two camera‑equipped satellites that returned heat‑shield imagery, and the vehicle completed planned reentry maneuvers and a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
- An upper‑stage Raptor shut down during ascent and the remaining engines burned longer to keep the vehicle on an acceptable trajectory, and one Super Heavy booster engine and later boost‑back burns failed, sending the booster into the Gulf of Mexico.
- SpaceX and analysts described core test objectives as met because of payload deployment and heat‑shield inspection, but they said engine reliability and precision booster recovery remain unproven and require more iterative flights.
- The flight arrives days after SpaceX filed for an IPO and underlines stakes for investors and NASA, which must see further orbital refueling and docking demonstrations before relying on Starship for Artemis lunar missions.