SOUTH TEXAS — SpaceX completed a full-duration static fire test of a Starship V3 booster at its Starbase facility in South Texas in early May 2026. The test followed two earlier static fire attempts on V3 boosters that ended prematurely.

In mid-April 2026, SpaceX conducted a static fire test on a V3 booster with 33 engines that ended 1.88 seconds after ignition due to a reported manifold pressure issue. In February 2026, a static fire of 10 Raptor engines on a V3 booster ended abruptly due to an automatic ground systems abort, damaging half of the engines on the booster. Earlier that month, a V3 booster had passed a pressure test.

"This is such a wild ride. The highs are high. The lows are low." said Jenna Lowe, senior manager of Starship operations, in a podcast interview.

Starship has not flown in seven months. The vehicle's most recent flight was in October 2025, the fifth flight of the year. SpaceX conducted two flights of Starship V2 before the end of 2025 that were largely successful. In November 2025, a Starship V3 booster exploded and was destroyed during a pressure-hold test. Since that most recent test flight, SpaceX completed development work on the V3 vehicle and built a second launch tower at Starbase with more rugged ground systems.

The V3 design incorporates improvements based on lessons from V1 and V2 to improve performance, reliability, and robustness. The vehicle is intended to deploy large Starlink satellites into orbit and demonstrate in-space refueling for NASA's Artemis Moon program. Raptor engines power both the first and second stages of Starship, and SpaceX built 600 Raptor engines for its V2 Starship program.

SpaceX conducted its initial Starship test flight in April 2023. By November 2024, the company had demonstrated the ability to launch and capture the Super Heavy first stage and completed a safe flight of the upper Starship stage, including relighting its Raptor engine in space and performing a controlled splashdown. During three consecutive test flights in early 2025, SpaceX lost control of the vehicle during ascent, with debris falling back into the atmosphere without causing injuries. On May 27, 2025, the ninth test flight lost both the upper stage and the Super Heavy booster, and SpaceX paused Starship test flights for three months.

SpaceX has invested $15 billion in the Starship program over the past decade, funding 11 test flights, a spaceport in South Texas, and a new factory built to support a high production rate. Starship has undergone three years of test flights since the program's first launch in April 2023.