STARSHIP V3 IS THE BIGGEST ROCKET EVER BUILT — FLIGHT 12 PUT THAT SCALE TO THE TEST

To understand what SpaceX launched on May 22, 2026, start with the numbers.

Starship V3 stands 124.4 metres tall — taller than a 40-storey building. At liftoff it weighs 5,533 tonnes. Its 33 Raptor 3 engines generate a combined 9,240 metric tons of thrust. That is more than double the thrust of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), currently the most powerful operational rocket in the world at approximately 4,000 metric tons of thrust. Starship can deliver over 100 tonnes of payload to low Earth orbit in a single flight.

Nothing built before it comes close.

Flight 12, which lifted off from SpaceX's Starbase facility in South Texas, was the first flight of the new V3 version. The mission profile called for a roughly one-hour flight stretching halfway around the globe, during which the vehicle deployed 20 modified Starlink satellites or simulator payloads. The ship — designated Ship 39 — completed a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean off Western Australia as planned, despite losing one engine during reentry. NASA, which is counting on Starship to land astronauts on the Moon under the Artemis program, will consider that a significant validation of the vehicle's core architecture.

The mission was not without setbacks. The Super Heavy booster, which carries the stack into the upper atmosphere before separating, failed to complete its boostback burn and was lost in the Gulf of Mexico. It was not planned for recovery. SpaceX said it was reviewing data to determine the cause.

The flight came two days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced plans to take the company public — a development that adds commercial significance to every Starship milestone.

May 23, 2026

Sources: Space.com, NPR, CNN, NASASpaceFlight.com, CNBC