SpaceX Launches Starship V3—the Most Powerful Rocket Ever Built

Update: Friday, May 22, 6:40 p.m. ET: Starship V3 launched from Starbase, Texas, at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday, May 22. Once in space, the Super Heavy V3 booster successfully separated from the Starship upper stage at 6:33 p.m., though the upper stage lost an engine in the process. The booster splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico at 6:37 p.m. ET. Update: Thursday, May 21, 7:45 p.m. ET: SpaceX stood down from its Thursday evening launch attempt and will try to launch Flight 12 during a window that opens at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday, May 22. The broadcast (provided below) is slated to begin at 5:58 p.m. Alright, we don’t want to jinx it, but it’s looking like SpaceX will finally attempt to launch Starship V3 during the evening of Thursday, May 21. This new iteration of the company’s super-heavy-lift rocket is the biggest, most powerful launch vehicle ever built. A successful maiden voyage could signal the start of a new era for SpaceX—and the spaceflight industry writ large. Late Tuesday evening, SpaceX shared several photos of Starship V3 getting stacked on the launch pad at Starbase, Texas. The company had planned to launch Flight 12 on Tuesday but has bumped the mission back by 24 hours e