The first launch of the new and bigger version (V3) of the world’s most powerful rocket ‘Starship’ was a mixed journey of successes and failures. An engine failure occurred after takeoff from the ‘Starbase’ launching pad located at the southern tip of Texas. Due to this the rocket was in danger of being destroyed. Despite this, after about an hour the Starship spacecraft managed to land safely in the Indian Ocean. There have been many launches of the Starship series before, but this was the first test of the third generation (V3) upgraded rocket and the 12th test of Starship. It was launched on the morning of 23 May as per Indian time. SpaceX, the company of world’s richest businessman Elon Musk, has built this rocket. The Starship spacecraft (top) and Super Heavy booster (bottom) are collectively called ‘Starship’. The height of this vehicle is 403 feet. It is completely reusable. Booster could not do controlled landing, burn test failed. The first part of the rocket i.e. ‘Super Heavy Booster’ could not complete its ‘boost back’ burn. This is the process by which the booster comes back and makes a controlled landing on land or in the sea. Due to incomplete burn, this booster could not fall into the water in a completely controlled manner. Starship’s sixth engine did not start. When the main Starship spacecraft was to move forward after separation from the booster, only five of its six engines could start. Due to one engine not starting, it could not reach a completely precise orbital path. Despite this, its trajectory was within such safe limits that it could complete a ‘suborbital’ flight. Due to this technical glitch, the team could not test starting the engine again in space. The main objective of this test was to successfully launch the rocket, take it up, separate it from the upper part (Starship) and then restart the engine and land it safely at the designated place in the ocean (Gulf of America). Now know about the first 11 tests of Starship…. 11th Test: For the first time, eight dummy satellites were launched into space. The 11th test of Starship was conducted on 14 October 2025 at 5:00 am from Boca Chica, Texas. This test was of 1 hour 6 minutes, in which water landing of the super heavy booster was done in the Gulf of America. The water landing of Starship was done in the Indian Ocean. The purpose of this flight was to conduct tests related to returning the rocket to the place of flight in future. 10th Test: For the first time, the 10th test of Starship, which left eight dummy satellites in space, was conducted on 27 August 2025, which was successful. The rocket was launched at 5:00 am from Boca Chica, Texas. This test was of 1 hour 6 minutes. In this mission, all the objectives from releasing the Starlink simulator satellite into space to starting the engine were completed. Starlink simulator satellites are dummies of real Starlink satellites. These are used to test the satellite deployment capability of Starship. There was an explosion in the starship on 29 June. Earlier this test was to be held on 29 June 2025, but during the static fire test, there was an explosion in the starship. In this test, the rocket is placed on the ground and its engine is started, so that everything can be checked before launch. During the test, a sudden explosion started in the upper part of the rocket. Within no time the entire rocket had turned into a ball of fire. Ninth Test: The booster had landed, but the ship lost control. In the 9th test held on May 28, 2025, the Starship lost control about 30 minutes after launching, due to which it was destroyed upon entering the Earth’s atmosphere. This was the third consecutive time that the starship was destroyed in the sky. However, the booster made a hard landing in the Gulf of Mexico. Eighth Test: The booster had landed, but the ship had exploded. The eighth test of the Starship took place on 7 March 2025 Indian time. After 7 minutes of launching, the booster (lower part) separated and returned to the launch pad. But after 8 minutes, 4 out of the six engines of the ship (upper part) stopped working due to which the ship lost control. After this the automated abort system blasted the ship. Falling debris affected flights at airports in Miami, Orlando, Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. Seventh Test: Booster returned; But the spacecraft exploded in the sky. Even on January 17, 2025, the seventh test of the Starship was not completely successful. The booster (lower part) separated and returned to the launch pad 8 minutes after launch, but the ship (upper part) was blasted due to an oxygen leak. Sixth test: When there was a problem in landing on the launchpad, it was landed on water, Trump was also present. The sixth test of the starship was done on 20 November 2024 at 03:30 am. America’s newly elected President Donald Trump also reached Starbase to watch the test. In this test, the booster was to be caught back on the launchpad after launch, but due to all the parameters not being correct, it was decided to land it in water. The starship’s engines were restarted in space. This was followed by landing in the Indian Ocean. Fifth Test: The booster was caught on the launchpad for the first time. The fifth test of the starship was done on 13 October 2024. In this test, a super heavy booster sent 96 km above the earth was brought back to the launchpad, which was caught by Maczilla. The Maczilla has two metal arms that look like chopsticks. The Starship was re-entered into the Earth’s atmosphere and made a controlled landing in the Indian Ocean. When the starship entered the Earth’s atmosphere, its speed was 26,000 kilometers per hour and the temperature had reached 1,430°C. Fourth test: The starship was taken to space, then landed in water. The fourth test of the starship took place on June 6, 2024, which was successful. This 1.05-hour mission was launched from Boca Chica at 6.20 pm. In this, the starship was taken into space, then brought back to Earth and landed on water. The main goal of the test was to see whether the starship could survive during entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. After the test, company owner Elon Musk had said, ‘Despite the loss of several tiles and a damaged flap, the Starship made a soft landing in the sea.’ Third test: Contact with the starship was lost after reentry. This test took place on March 14, 2024. SpaceX had said that Starship could not survive during reentry, but it achieved many important achievements during the flight. Elon Musk said that he hopes that half a dozen starships will fly this year. Second test: There was a malfunction after stage separation. The second test of the starship was done on 18 November 2023 at around 6:30 pm. Separation of the Super Heavy Booster and Starship occurred about 2.4 minutes after launching. The booster was to land back on Earth, but after 3.2 minutes it exploded at 90 Km above. The starship proceeded as per the plan. After about 8 minutes, the starship also malfunctioned 148 km above the earth, due to which it had to be destroyed. It was destroyed through the flight termination system. In the second test, the hot staging process was used for the first time to separate the rocket and starship, which was completely successful. All 33 Raptor engines also fired properly from launch to separation. First test: There was an explosion 4 minutes after launching. The first orbital test of the starship was done on 20 April 2023. Booster 7 and Ship 24 were launched in this test. Just 4 minutes after takeoff, the Starship exploded 30 kilometers above the Gulf of Mexico. Even after the failure of the starship, Ilonmusk and the employees were celebrating. This is because the rocket itself flying from the launch pad was a big success. Musk had said two days before the launch – success may be achieved, but excitement is guaranteed. SpaceX had said that even before the separation stage, a part of it suddenly separated, although it was not fixed. What we learn with a test like this leads to success. Today’s test will help us improve the reliability of Starship. The teams will continue to review the data and work toward the next flight test.
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