SpaceX Successfully Launches Its Largest, Most Powerful Starship Yet on Historic Test Flight
BOCA CHICA, Texas — May 23, 2026 — SpaceX successfully launched the largest and most powerful version of its Starship rocket on a test flight Friday evening, May 22, marking a major milestone for Elon Musk‘s space company just two days after he announced plans for a record-breaking initial public offering (IPO).
The uncrewed Starship V3 rocket lifted off at 5:30 p.m. local time (2230 GMT) from SpaceX‘s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, near the Mexican border, after a 24-hour delay caused by a malfunctioning hydraulic pin in the launch tower .
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A Completely Redesigned Rocket Stands 124 Meters Tall
At 124 meters (407 feet), the latest Starship model eclipses older versions by several feet and represents a complete redesign of the mega rocket that NASA is counting on to land astronauts on the moon as part of its Artemis program .
The rocket features 33 Raptor 3 engines generating approximately 75,000 kilonewtons of thrust — nearly twice the power of NASA‘s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The revamped booster has fewer but larger and stronger grid fins for steering, and a larger fuel transfer line that is the size of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 first-stage booster .
The retro-looking, stainless steel spacecraft also carries more cameras, more navigation and computer power, and docking cones for future rendezvous and moon missions .
Technical Challenges Did Not Derail the Mission
While the launch achieved most of its major objectives, it did not go exactly according to plan.
One of the Super Heavy booster‘s 33 engines shut down about one minute and 40 seconds after liftoff. During the booster’s attempted “boostback burn” to prepare for a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, only a handful of engines ignited, and those that did shut down less than 20 seconds into the minute-long burn . The booster ultimately made a hard splashdown in the Gulf.
One of the Starship upper stage’s six engines also shut down about half a minute after stage separation. However, SpaceX noted the vehicle has engine-out capability, and the other five engines fired about a minute longer than planned to place Starship close to its intended suborbital trajectory .
SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot said the rocket was traveling along a trajectory that was “within bounds” of what the company had analyzed, even though he called it a less-than-perfect orbital insertion. “I wouldn‘t call it nominal orbital insertion,” Huot said .
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Payload Deployment and Heat Shield Inspection
During its suborbital cruise phase, Starship successfully opened its “Pez” payload bay door and deployed 20 mock Starlink satellites, along with two modified satellites equipped with cameras to inspect the spacecraft’s heat shield during descent. Those satellites transmitted imagery back to ground control, providing engineers with valuable data .
Despite skipping a planned engine relight test due to the earlier engine problems, the spacecraft made a controlled descent and soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean approximately 66.5 minutes after launch, tipping over and exploding as expected .
Mission Called an ‘Epic‘ Success
“Congratulations @SpaceX team on an epic first Starship V3 launch & landing! You scored a goal for humanity,” Musk posted on his X platform following the successful test .
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who flew in for the launch, congratulated SpaceX on the achievement. “One step closer to the Moon… one step closer to Mars,” he posted on social media .
SpaceX engineer Kate Tice described the flight as “an incredible day for Starship,” noting that employees were “incredibly proud of what we just saw” .
Starship Comes Before Massive SpaceX IPO
The successful test flight came as SpaceX prepares for what is expected to be the largest IPO in Wall Street history. The company filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 20, just two days before the launch .
SpaceX has valued itself at $1.25 trillion, and the IPO could make Musk the world‘s first trillionaire . The company’s prospectus indicates it expects to begin orbital payload delivery missions with Starship in the second half of 2026 .
SpaceX‘s Starlink satellite internet service generated $110 billion in revenue last year, making it a crucial component of the company’s business model . The rocket is also key to NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon as early as 2028, with Starship serving as the human landing system .
The company has not announced a timeline for the next Starship launch but is also preparing for the rocket‘s first Florida launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center by the end of the year .
SOURCES
- The Hindu: SpaceX launches its biggest, most beefed-up Starship yet on test flight
- NPR Illinois: SpaceX launches its biggest, most beefed-up Starship yet on a test flight
- SpaceNews: SpaceX launches first Starship V3
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