Though not without some drama along the way.
Elon Musk’s company will also attempt to deploy the first V3 Starlink satellites into its orbital internet constellation.
The company says it will start construction in 2027 and that a Starship rocket could take flight as soon as 2029.
The company ticked off a few more boxes on the second Starship V3 flight, but appears to have had another issue relighting the booster’s rocket engines.
The company didn’t immediately say what went wrong. SpaceX’s stock plunged more than 4% in after-hours trading before paring losses.
This will be the first Starship test flight for SpaceX as a public company, testing the market’s appetite for the company’s “fly, fail, fix” approach to rocket development, which often ends in fireballs.
SpaceX’s recent IPO and Starship rocket test flight delivered two big data points that offer a realistic vision for the coming years — and one that may disappoint both the company’s boosters and its critics.
The company had a mostly successful first launch of its upgraded Starship V3, which it needs to power its many ambitious goals in the years to come.
SpaceX fueled the third-generation rocket booster and ship and was just moments away from liftoff, before calling a scrub. It’s expected to try again Friday.
SpaceX chief Elon Musk said in February that the mighty Starship rocket would embark on its 12th test flight this month, although several more recent reports have suggested that it might not leave the launchpad until early April. Preflight tests on the…