Space & Astronomy

SpaceX Starship V3 launches successfully then ends in explosion

By T.K. Randall
May 24, 2026

Image Credit: (PD) NASA via Wikimedia Commons There's never a dull moment for those following along with the progress of Starship V3 - the world's largest and most powerful rocket and the vehicle that could - perhaps one day soon - see the first humans in history make the trip all the way to Mars.

For now, however, actually getting this enormous machine into space has been the priority and when it launched on Friday, it managed to do exactly that - marking another success for SpaceX and another step toward the vehicle's use in day-to-day missions.

The launch - dubbed Starship Flight 12 - wasn't entirely without drama, as when it returned to Earth after its trip in orbit it spectacularly exploded in a huge fireball in the Indian Ocean.

According to SpaceX, this has been planned in advance as the firm had not wanted to retrieve and reuse the rocket due to it only being an experimental prototype.Another issue also arose during the flight when one of the rocket's raptor engines stopped working, requiring the others to operate for longer to compensate.

Overall, though, the launch was considered a success.

SpaceX is currently working to get ready for the next Artemis mission that will test out docking manoeuvers between the Orion capsule and the HLS (Human Landing System) which, if everything goes to plan, will be provided on schedule by Blue Origin or SpaceX (or both).

In the end, though, only one will actually be chosen to fly to the Moon as part of Artemis IV.

With the success of this latest SpaceX test flight, there's every chance that Elon Musk's ambitious firm will be the one to carry the astronauts to the lunar surface and back.


Source: Mail Online

Tags: SpaceX, Starship