SpaceX’s first Starship Version 3 rocket takes off from Pad 2 at Starbase during the Flight 12 mission on May 22, 2026. Image: SpaceX
SpaceX launched a revamped Super Heavy-Starship rocket Friday on an “epic” flight to test more powerful engines, enhanced control systems and a host of other upgrades needed to streamline operations and improve safety and reliability.
One of the Super Heavy booster’s 33 methane-fueled Raptor 3 engines shut down early during the climb out of the lower atmosphere and additional engines failed to run properly during an attempt to fly the stage back to its planned splashdown point off the Texas Gulf Coast.
The Starship upper stage was equipped with six third-generation Raptor engines and one of three optimized for operating in vacuum shut down early during the climb to space. The flight computer kept the other five engines running longer than originally planned to make up for the shortfall, putting the craft on an acceptable sub-orbital trajectory.
It was not immediately known what might have triggered the premature engine shutdowns, but once in space, the Starship appeared to perform in fine fashion, deploying 22 Starlink internet satellite simulators from an upgraded Pez-like dispenser. Two of those were equipped with cameras that sent back images of the Starship from the viewpoint of the simulators.
