A 407-foot Starship rocket lifted off from Starbase, Texas, with the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage separating a few minutes after liftoff. The booster was intended to re-ignite its engines for a sustained burn and perform a simulated landing in the Gulf of Mexico, but the engines did not properly re-ignite, and the booster tumbled into the water where it likely exploded. Starship lost one of its six Raptor engines while ascending and continued traveling toward the Indian Ocean. The launch served as a shakedown for upgraded Starship V3 hardware and an all-new Starbase launchpad. It also coincided with SpaceX’s IPO filing and expected Nasdaq listing, potentially affecting future test launches.
"The 407-foot rocket - the most powerful ever built - lifted off from SpaceX's company town Starbase, Texas, at 5:30 p.m. local time. Just a few minutes later, the upper stage ship separated from the Super Heavy booster and continued on into space. The booster pitched away from the Starship vehicle and headed back to Earth, where it was supposed to perform a simulated landing in the Gulf of Mexico."
"But the booster's engines did not properly re-ignite for the sustained burn that is meant to deliver it back to the launch site. The booster then tumbled down to the water, where it likely exploded. Starship, meanwhile, lost one of its six Raptor engines as it ascended into space. The ship was still moving through space on its way to the Indian Ocean at the time this story was published."
"While it didn't go exactly according to plan, this was an important test launch for SpaceX. It was the first real shakedown of the upgraded Starship V3 hardware, which has been in development for months. The company was also testing out an all-new launchpad at Starbase that it's been developing and building for years."
"The test launch also comes at a historical inflection point for SpaceX as a company. Its IPO filing was made public this week, and SpaceX is expected to list on the Nasdaq in mid-June. The IPO is reportedly supposed to raise around $75 billion for SpaceX, which the company plans to use to fuel further development, massive AI ambitions, and to pay off some of the debt associated with xAI and Musk's social media company X."
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