SpaceX's Starship V3—still a work in progress—mostly successful on first flight

SpaceX successfully launched an updated version of its Starship V3 on May 22, 2026, the first test flight of the upgraded booster and upper stage designed as part of NASA's Artemis lunar program. The flight met company goals by deploying 22 simulator Starlink satellites into orbit and testing new systems including heat shield performance. While the Super Heavy booster's boostback burn did not go as planned, resulting in a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico rather than a recovery attempt, the overall mission demonstrated the new hardware's capabilities.

Source: Ars Technica | 2026-05-23