SpaceX unleashes upgraded Starship rocket in 12th test flight after eight-month pause
SpaceX launched its upgraded Starship after scrubbing first attempt; see how the new rocket performed and what's next for lunar missions.
A suborbital test flight of Starship V3 blasted off into the sky from Texas on the evening of May 22.
SpaceX launched its improved Starship rocket from southeastern Texas on Friday after an eight-month hiatus, achieving some of its test flight goals.
The company, led by Elon Musk, had planned for the 12th flight of Starship and the Super Heavy booster to lift off Thursday, May 21, following upgrades to the rocket, booster and launch facility, but an issue at the launch site forced SpaceX to scrub the first attempt. The previous Starship test flight, Flight 11, launched on Oct. 13, 2025.
A SpaceX Starship rocket blasts off from Boca Chica, Texas, on May 22, 2026, marking the first test for SpaceX's megarocket in eight months. (Image: SpaceX)
Musk said Thursday's issue involved a launch tower arm attached to the rocket. After repairs, SpaceX resumed the countdown Friday evening, and the megarocket blasted off from the Starbase launch site near Boca Chica, Texas.
The mission marked the debut of the next-generation Starship and Super Heavy vehicles, which SpaceX said are powered by the next evolution of its Raptor engine and launched from a newly designed pad at Starbase.
Unlike previous test flights, the booster was not expected to return to the launch site for a catch attempt because this was the “first flight test of a significantly redesigned vehicle,” according to SpaceX. Instead, the booster was set to conduct a water landing in the Gulf of Mexico.
A SpaceX Starship rocket blasts off from Boca Chica, Texas, on May 22, 2026, marking the first test for SpaceX's megarocket in eight months. (Image: SpaceX)
Starship completed several test objectives, including the deployment of Starlink simulator satellites. The vehicle also targeted a controlled landing in the Indian Ocean, which came close to success before the rocket toppled over and burst into flames at the end of the flight.
Each test flight is important as SpaceX works toward using Starship as a human landing system for NASA’s Artemis program. NASA is working with SpaceX to develop Starship for future Artemis moon missions, including plans to return astronauts to the lunar surface.
In April, NASA completed Artemis II, its first crewed lunar flyby mission under the Artemis program. Artemis III is now expected to focus on testing rendezvous and docking operations in Earth orbit with commercial lunar landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin before a future lunar landing attempt.
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