SpaceX launches Starship V3 for the first time, but loses its booster upon return

SpaceX has launched the third upgraded version of its Starship rocket for the first time, although the test launch was not ideal for Elon Musk’s spaceflight company.

The 407-foot rocket, the most powerful rocket ever built, lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase City in Texas at 5:30 p.m. local time. After just a few minutes, the upper stage ship separated from the super-heavy rocket and continued its journey into space.

The booster moved away from the Starship and returned to Earth, where it was supposed to make a simulated landing in the Gulf of Mexico. But the rocket’s engines were not properly re-ignited for the sustained burn that was supposed to return it to the launch site. The booster then fell into the water, where it likely exploded.

Meanwhile, the spacecraft lost one of its six Raptor engines while ascending into space. But it has successfully deployed all 20 Starlink satellite simulators along with two modified Starlink satellites intended to record footage of the Starship’s exterior. About an hour after liftoff, the spacecraft simulated landing in the Indian Ocean, before capsizing and exploding as expected.

Although it didn’t exactly go according to plan, it was an important test launch for SpaceX. This was the first real teardown of the upgraded Starship V3 hardware, which has been in development for months. The company has also been testing a brand new launch pad at Starbase that has been developed and built for years.

The test launch also comes at a historic inflection point for SpaceX as a company. The IPO filing was announced this week, and SpaceX is expected to list on the Nasdaq in mid-June. The IPO is said to raise about $75 billion for SpaceX, which the company plans to use to support further development, its massive AI ambitions, and pay down some of the debt associated with xAI and Musk’s social media company X. (This means this could also be the last Starship test launch to occur without stock market reaction.)

SpaceX has spent years and billions of dollars developing the spacecraft, which it considers essential to its mission of making life multiplanetary. The company plans to use the spacecraft on NASA missions to the moon, and eventually to Mars. But the big task that needs to be done in the near term is delivering the most advanced Starlink satellites into Earth orbit, as Starlink is the only profitable part of SpaceX’s business.

This was Starship’s first flight since October 2025. SpaceX had planned to attempt a Starship V3 launch earlier, but one of the first upgraded boosters suffered an explosion during testing in November. SpaceX attempted a launch for the first time on Thursday, but ultimately had to postpone it because the hydraulic pin on the launch tower arm refused to retract, according to Musk.

This new version of Starship features SpaceX’s third-generation Raptor engines, which have greater thrust and a much simpler design. The new booster is designed for faster takeoff and easier grip on the launch tower.

This story has been updated to include information about the spacecraft landing simulation.