SpaceX launches Starship test flight after prior scrub
A Tesla Cybertruck passes by SpaceX facilities on Monday, April 13, 2026 in Hawthorne, California, USA.
Ethan Swap | Bloomberg | Getty Images
SpaceX launched its massive Starship rocket on Friday, after its first attempt was canceled due to technical problems the day before.
A 90-minute launch window opened at 6:30 PM ET, and the flight took off from SpaceX’s facility at Starbase, Texas, at that time.
The test flight of Starship V3, with all its revised systems, is a major event for SpaceX ahead of its public market debut after the company publicly announced its IPO. prospectus earlier this week. Musk’s aerospace and defense company is expected to raise about $75 billion from the IPO next month, after being valued at $1.25 billion when it merged with Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI in February.
SpaceX said in its IPO filing Wednesday that Starship “is designed to carry 100 metric tons into Earth orbit in a fully reusable configuration while also providing rapid turnaround times similar to commercial aviation.” This is Starship’s 12th test flight.
Starship, the largest rocket ever built or flown, is also key to SpaceX’s ability to power its Starlink wireless internet service business. The company said it plans to launch more satellites into orbit and provide stronger wireless internet to customers even in dense urban areas.
Last year, SpaceX launched more than 3,000 satellites on 122 Falcon 9 rocket missions. Starship can carry and release more satellites per trip than the smaller Falcon 9.
The system consists of the Starship upper stage vehicle, Super Heavy booster and Raptor engines. The upper stage is intended to be fully reusable and carry both large amounts of cargo and humans into space, and SpaceX plans to use it to land NASA astronauts back on the moon in 2028.
Friday’s test flight was SpaceX’s first test flight for Starship in seven months, following a series of explosions and other disruptions that disrupted air travel due to falling debris in early 2025. The company is carrying fake Starlink satellites during the test flight, but not astronaut and customer cargo.
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