American company SpaceX successfully carried out a test launch of the Starship super-heavy launch system with the Super Heavy V3 booster, which is being developed for future crewed missions to the Moon and Mars.
The launch took place on May 22 at 5:30 PM local time from the Boca Chica site in Texas. The mission had originally been scheduled for the previous day but was postponed because of a technical malfunction.
Roughly seven minutes after liftoff, the booster separated from the spacecraft and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico.
Starship itself completed a partial orbit around Earth. During the flight, the spacecraft deployed 20 simulator satellites into orbit, along with two modified Starlink satellites.
After completing the orbital phase, Starship re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and splashed down in a designated area of the Indian Ocean. The total flight time was approximately 65 minutes.
The launch marked Starship’s twelfth test flight and the first for the system’s third-generation configuration—the V3 version equipped with upgraded Raptor engines.
Of the program’s previous 11 launches, SpaceX classified six as successful.