STORY: SpaceX launched its 12th Starship on an uncrewed test flight from Texas on Friday (May 22) in a high-stakes trial run of major upgrades to its next-generation spacecraft as Elon Musk's rocket company nears a record-breaking public listing.

While Starship flew in space, its payload dispenser released a clutch of 20 mock Starlink satellites one by one, plus two actual satellites deployed along Starship's flight trajectory to scan the spacecraft's heat shield and transmit data to operators on the ground during descent.

After a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean, the starship exploded.

The debut flight of Starship V3 - designed to enable more frequent Starlink satellite launches and to send future NASA missions to the moon - represents a key milestone for the vehicle following months of testing delays.

Starship, which SpaceX has spent more than $15 billion developing as a fully reusable spacecraft, is critical to Musk's goals of cutting launch costs, expanding his Starlink business and pursuing ambitions ranging from deep-space exploration to orbital data centers - all factored into his targeted $1.75 trillion IPO valuation.

The test flight aimed to reinforce SpaceX’s case that Starship, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket ever flown, is nearing commercial readiness after years of explosive setbacks and development delays.

The towering vehicle, consisting of the upper-stage Starship astronaut vessel stacked atop its Super Heavy booster rocket, blasted off on Friday evening from SpaceX facilities on the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville.

The launch marked SpaceX's 12th Starship test flight since 2023 and the first ever for the V3 iteration of both the cruise vessel and its Super Heavy booster - powered by the company's new Raptor 3 engines - as well as the first blast-off from a new launch pad designed for the more powerful rocket.

Test flight 12 in the Starship campaign is being closely watched by investors three weeks ahead of an IPO that could become the first U.S. market debut above $1 trillion and immediately transform SpaceX into one of the world's most valuable publicly traded companies.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: BOCA CHICA, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (MAY 22, 2026) (SPACEX - For editorial use only / No resale)

1. VARIOUS OF STARSHIP BLASTING OFF AND RISING INTO THE SKY FROM LAUNCH PAD

IN SPACE (MAY 22, 2026) (SPACEX - For editorial use only / No resale)

2. BOOSTER STAGE SEPARATION

3. SPLIT SCREEN OF STARSHIP REACHING MAXIMUM ALTITUDE

4. BOOSTER MAKING REENTRY

5. STARSHIP AT MAXIMUM ALTITUDE WITH EARTH IN BACKGROUND

6. VIEW OF ENGINES

7. VARIOUS OF STARSHIP ABOVE EARTH

8. STARSHIP DEPLOYING MOCK STARLINK SATELLITES IN ORBIT

9. SATELLITE-MOUNTED CAMERA VIEW OF SATELLITE LAUNCH

10 VIEW OF STARSHIP IN SPACE FROM SATELLITE

11. VARIOUS OF STARSHIP REENTERING ATMOSPHERE

INDIAN OCEAN (MAY 22, 2026) (SPACEX - for editorial use only / No resale)

12. VARIOUS OF STARSHIP DESCENDING/ LANDING IN OCEAN / FALLING OVER AND EXPLODING

BOCA CHICA, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (MAY 22, 2026 ) (SPACEX - For editorial use only / No resale)

13. VARIOUS OF SPACEX EMPLOYEES CHEERING AT MISSION'S CONCLUSION