SpaceX’s giant Starship V3 rocket test saw its booster crash into the Indian Ocean during a failed splashdown attempt following the rocket’s first full test flight.

The Flight 12 mission was the first Starship launch since October, introducing the V3 design with upgraded Raptor engines for easier maintenance and faster reuse.

The 407-foot megarocket lifted off from Texas, using 33 Super Heavy booster engines and six engines on the upper stage, making it the most powerful rocket ever launched.

Despite one engine failing to ignite at liftoff, the rocket climbed successfully and completed stage separation high above the Gulf.

Earlier, the Starship V3 launch was scrubbed at T-40 seconds due to a hydraulic pin failure and ground system issues, delaying its first test flight.

Booster splasdown failure

SpaceX launched the latest version of its giant Starship rocket on May 22 from a newly completed second launch pad at its Starbase facility in South Texas. Liftoff took place at 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT), sending the 408-foot-tall vehicle into the sky on its 12th suborbital test flight.

The rocket lifted off using 33 Super Heavy booster engines and six upper-stage Raptor engines. One booster engine failed to ignite at launch, but the vehicle continued its ascent and completed stage separation above the Gulf.

After separation, the Super Heavy booster attempted to return for a controlled splashdown in the Gulf. However, the engines needed for the landing burn failed to relight properly, causing the booster to tumble and break apart after hitting the sea.

“Following stage separation, the Super Heavy booster performed a directional flip maneuver and attempted its boostback burn. It was unable to light all planned engines and performed a partial boostback burn that ended early. Super Heavy attempted to reignite its engines for the landing burn before experiencing a hard splashdown in the Gulf of America,” said a statement from SpaceX.

The upper-stage Starship continued its mission and carried out several test objectives, including deploying 20 dummy Starlink satellites and two operational satellites equipped with cameras to record heat shield footage during re-entry. One of the ship’s six Raptor engines shut down during ascent, but the remaining five engines carried the vehicle to an altitude of nearly 121 miles (195 kilometers).

The spacecraft later re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean and completed a controlled descent. It landed in the targeted splashdown zone before exploding on contact with the water, as planned for the test mission.

Hot staging test

SpaceX engineers tested a new launch pad configuration at Starbase during the Starship Flight 12 mission. The pad remained stable during liftoff, marking a successful validation for future operations. The mission lasted about one hour from launch to splashdown. A minor hydraulic fault on the tower arm had delayed the attempt the previous day.

Starship consists of the Super Heavy first-stage booster and the upper-stage Starship, also called Ship. About 2 minutes and 20 seconds into flight, hot staging occurred, with Ship igniting its engines before separation from Super Heavy. Unlike the V2 design, Starship V3 does not use a jettisoned interstage ring. Instead, it features a fixed structure around the booster’s top to support engine ignition and separation dynamics, reports Space.com.

After separation, Super Heavy attempted a boostback burn toward Starbase but did not complete the maneuver. SpaceX had planned a Gulf of Mexico splashdown instead of tower recovery to avoid pad risk on the first flight of new hardware. The booster ultimately fell into the Gulf. The upper stage continued its flight after separation. Earlier V3 testing in November resulted in the loss of a Super Heavy booster intended for this mission, contributing to a more than six-month gap since the previous Starship launch.

NASA is banking on Starship as a crewed lunar lander for its Artemis program. The agency is also working with Blue Origin, which is developing the Blue Origin lunar lander. Artemis 2 has already completed a crewed lunar flyby mission. NASA is targeting Artemis 3 for mid to late 2027 and Artemis 4 for a lunar landing in 2028.