SpaceX launches Starship V3—the world's most powerful and tallest rocket ever

SpaceX conducted its first test flight of Starship Version 3 (V3) on Friday at approximately 6:30 P.M. EDT, marking the twelfth Starship test and the first in seven months. The fully stacked rocket, standing 408 feet tall with 18 million pounds of thrust, became the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built. Despite one of the 33 booster engines failing to ignite and another engine malfunctioning during ascent, the flight proceeded as planned. The booster separated from Starship and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, while the spacecraft continued its trajectory. At an altitude of around 195 kilometers, Starship deployed 20 dummy Starlink satellites and two operational satellites designed to analyze its heat shield. The mission aimed to demonstrate Starship’s ability to launch, separate, and later splash down in the Indian Ocean, though the engine issues may alter the scope of the test. SpaceX did not attempt to recover either the booster or the spacecraft, focusing instead on evaluating performance. The company’s ground team celebrated key milestones, including booster separation and initial ascent. The test flight is critical for NASA, which plans to use Starship for the *Artemis III* mission in 2027, where it will ferry astronauts from lunar orbit to the moon’s surface, with a potential landing as early as 2028. However, NASA’s Office of the Inspector General has warned that SpaceX may struggle to deliver Starship on time due to past test failures and delays. The rocket’s development has faced setbacks, including explosions during earlier tests, raising concerns about meeting the agency’s lunar mission timeline. Despite these challenges, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman expressed optimism, referencing the upcoming *Artemis III* docking plans with Starship or Blue Moon spacecraft.