First Flight of Version 3 Starship Marks Significant Progress Toward Routine Space Access

The National Space Society congratulates SpaceX on the successful completion of Starship Flight 12, the twelfth integrated test flight of the world’s most powerful rocket and the debut of the heavily redesigned next-generation Version 3 Starship and Super Heavy booster. The rocket lifted off from Starbase in South Texas at about 5:30 Central Time on Friday with no major delays. The original launch date was scheduled for Tuesday.

“Today’s successful test is a remarkable achievement for SpaceX and for humanity’s ambitions in space,” said Isaac Arthur, president of the NSS. “Each flight of Starship moves us closer to fully reusable, large-scale spaceflight, which will be essential for returning astronauts to the Moon, establishing a presence on Mars, and settling the solar system.”

Lifting off from the newly constructed Pad 2 at Starbase in South Texas, the Version 3 Starship —powered by more powerful and easier to manufacture next-generation Raptor 3 engines—achieved its primary mission objectives, including a successful launch, ascent, and stage separation. Unfortunately, the Booster failed to relight its engines for a successful boostback maneuver but still ended up in the Gulf of Mexico as intended. The Starship upper stage, Ship, lost one engine but was able to complete its primary mission.

Ship successfully deployed 22 Starlink simulator payloads but was unable to complete a relight of one of the Raptor engines as planned. It completed a controlled reentry with two Raptor engines alight, splashing down in the Indian Ocean as planned. This final phase of the mission helps to validate key heat shield performance data for future missions.

Flight 12 represents a significant leap forward in SpaceX’s rapid development program, validating critical upgrades across both the Booster and Ship stages while inaugurating a second operational launch pad at Starbase. The V3 Starship also has much more cargo capability and should allow for faster turnaround in future operations. The successful test brings SpaceX a step closer to its goals of full and rapid booster and ship reusability, supporting NASA’s Artemis program, and ultimately enabling crewed missions to Mars.