SpaceX’ Starship vehicle lifts off May 22 on the Flight 12 mission, the first of version 3 of the vehicle. Credit: SpaceX webcast
WASHINGTON — SpaceX launched the newest version of its Starship vehicle for the first time May 22, completing most of the test objectives planned for the suborbital flight.
Starship lifted off from the company’s facility at Starbase, Texas, at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on a mission designated Flight 12. The launch took place one day after SpaceX scrubbed the first Flight 12 launch attempt after a hydraulic pin in the launch tower failed to retract, preventing an arm with propellant lines from swinging away from the vehicle.
The Super Heavy booster fired its 33 Raptor 3 engines for the initial ascent, although one of the engines shut down about one minute and 40 seconds after liftoff. Two and a half minutes after liftoff, the Starship upper stage ignited its six engines and separated from Super Heavy.
Super Heavy was then scheduled to perform a “boostback” burn to prepare for a targeted splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. However, only a handful of engines ignited, and those that did shut down less than 20 seconds into the minute-long burn. The booster made a hard splashdown in the Gulf, with onscreen telemetry showing it was going nearly 1,500 kilometers per hour 100 meters above the surface.
