{"id":729270,"date":"2026-05-24T06:25:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T03:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/spacex-launched-starship-v3-three-weeks-before-its-ipo-the-booster-exploded\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T06:25:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T03:25:12","slug":"spacex-launched-starship-v3-three-weeks-before-its-ipo-the-booster-exploded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/spacex-launched-starship-v3-three-weeks-before-its-ipo-the-booster-exploded\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX launched Starship V3 three weeks before its IPO. The booster exploded."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6aee6849a01eb\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6aee6849a01eb\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/spacex-launched-starship-v3-three-weeks-before-its-ipo-the-booster-exploded\/#TLDR\" >TL;DR<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.thenextweb.com\/2026\/05\/spacex-starship-v3-flight-12-ipo-superheavy-failure.avif\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n<div class=\"postContent-tldr\">\n<h4 class=\"postContent-offsetTitle\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"TLDR\"><\/span>TL;DR<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><em>SpaceX\u2019s Starship V3 deployed mock satellites but lost the Super Heavy booster to an explosion. The $75B IPO is three weeks away.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>SpaceX launched the 12th test flight of its Starship rocket on Friday evening from Starbase, Texas, marking the debut of the upgraded Version 3 vehicle. The flight successfully deployed 20 mock Starlink satellites and beamed live video from space, but <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/05\/22\/spacex-prepares-another-attempt-at-starship-launch-after-prior-scrub.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the Super Heavy booster was destroyed after separation, failing to achieve a controlled descent.<\/a> The test came three weeks before SpaceX is expected to raise <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roximately $75 billion in what would be the largest IPO in history.<\/p>\n<p>The 90-minute launch window opened at 6:30 p.m. ET after a scrub the previous day caused by a hydraulic pin on the launch tower that failed to retract. Starship V3 lifted off from a new launch pad at Starbase, powered by 33 Raptor engines generating 18 million pounds of thrust. The vehicle stands 408 feet tall when fully stacked and is the largest rocket ever built or flown.<\/p>\n<p>The flight proceeded nominally through ascent and stage separation, but anomalies emerged almost im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely after the Super Heavy booster detached. During an engine relight sequence intended to steer the booster toward a controlled landing, failures destroyed a significant portion of the booster\u2019s aft section, resulting in a loss of control. The booster was not attempting a landing at the launch tower on this flight but was targeting a controlled descent into the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper channel-cta\">\n<div class=\"ica-text\">\n<p class=\"ica-text__title\">TNW City Coworking space &#8211; Where your best work happens<\/p>\n<p>A workspace designed for growth, collaboration, and endless networking opportunities in the heart of tech.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The upper stage, designated Ship 39, continued on a suborbital trajectory despite losing one of its six engines during powered flight. It deployed the 20 mock Starlink satellites one by one, plus two actual modified satellites equipped to scan the spacecraft\u2019s heat shield and transmit data back during descent. After reaching a speed of Mach 7, Starship lit two of its engines before splashing down vertically in the Indian Ocean, where it tipped over and exploded upon contact with the water, an expected outcome for this test profile.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX has spent more than $15 billion on the Starship programme, according to the IPO prospectus filed on Wednesday. The company describes Starship as \u201c<em>designed to deliver 100 metric tons to Earth\u2019s orbit in a fully reusable configuration while enabling rapid turnaround times akin to commercial aviation.<\/em>\u201d Full reusability requires both the upper stage and the booster to return intact. Friday\u2019s flight achieved neither, though it demonstrated that the core mission profile, satellite deployment from a suborbital trajectory, works with the V3 hardware.<\/p>\n<p>The IPO prospectus confirmed that Elon Musk holds approximately 42% of SpaceX\u2019s equity but controls roughly 79% of votes through a dual-class share structure. The company was valued at $1.25 trillion in February when it merged with xAI, Musk\u2019s artificial intelligence startup. It is now targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation for the public listing, with a 21-bank underwriting syndicate and a global roadshow expected to begin in the week of 8 June, with a listing date reportedly targeted for 12 June.<\/p>\n<p>NASA administrator Jared Isaacman flew to Starbase before the launch and appeared on the company\u2019s livestream in a flight suit alongside SpaceX employees. Isaacman, who commanded two private SpaceX missions before leading NASA, has a close personal relationship with Musk. NASA is relying on a modified Starship to land astronauts on the moon under the Artemis programme in 2028. The booster failure on Friday does not directly affect the Artemis timeline, but it demonstrates that the V3 vehicle\u2019s propulsion systems require further development before crewed flights can be considered.<\/p>\n<p>In a surprise announcement during the pre-launch wait, SpaceX confirmed that private explorer and cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang, who commanded the Fram2 polar orbit mission, will lead the first Starship flyby of Mars, which will also swing past the moon. No timeline was given.<\/p>\n<p>Friday\u2019s test was SpaceX\u2019s first Starship launch in seven months, following a string of explosions and setbacks in early 2025 that disrupted air <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a> due to falling debris. The company flew five Starship test flights in 2025 against a stated target of 25. The FAA has authorised SpaceX to increase its launch cadence at Starbase to up to 25 launches per year, and a separate February 2026 authorisation cleared up to 44 Starship launches per year at Pad LC-39A in Florida.<\/p>\n<p>Starship is central to SpaceX\u2019s Starlink business model. The company launched over 3,000 satellites on 122 Falcon 9 missions last year, but Starship is designed to carry and release significantly more satellites per trip, enabling the expansion needed to serve dense urban areas and support the growth trajectory that Starlink\u2019s 10 million subscribers and projected $20 billion in 2026 revenue require. The IPO arrives alongside listings from OpenAI and Anthropic, creating a combined demand for more than $150 billion in institutional capital that could reshape public markets.<\/p>\n<p>The booster failure will not stop the IPO. SpaceX\u2019s prospectus explicitly warns investors that \u201c<em>Starship development involves substantial risks including launch failures<\/em>\u201d and that test flights may not achieve all objectives. Investors buying SpaceX shares are buying the Starlink revenue machine and the Starship vision, not a guarantee that every test flight will succeed. But the optics of a booster exploding three weeks before the largest IPO in history are not the ones SpaceX would have chosen. Flight 13 is already tentatively scheduled for June.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/spacex-starship-v3-flight-12-ipo-superheavy-failure\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TL;DR SpaceX\u2019s Starship V3 deployed mock satellites but lost the Super Heavy booster to an explosion. The $75B IPO is three weeks away. SpaceX launched the 12th test flight of its Starship rocket on Friday evening from Starbase, Texas, marking the debut of the upgraded Version 3 vehicle. The flight successfully deployed 20 mock Starlink&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":729271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media.thenextweb.com\/2026\/05\/spacex-starship-v3-flight-12-ipo-superheavy-failure.avif","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-729270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=729270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/729271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=729270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=729270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=729270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}