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BROWNSVILLE, Texas — SpaceX launched its upgraded Starship V3 mega rocket from its Starbase site in southern Texas on Friday, marking the vehicle’s 12th test flight and its debut from a new launch pad near the Mexican border. The third-generation Starship, the company’s largest and most powerful rocket to date at 407 feet (124 meters) tall, lifted off after a scrubbed attempt the previous evening due to pad issues. It carried 20 mock Starlink satellites, including two modified, camera-equipped models that transmitted rare in-flight views, and flew eastward to an altitude of about 120 miles (194 kilometers) before releasing its payload midway through an approximately hourlong flight that spanned halfway around the globe. The spacecraft maintained controlled flight despite engine problems on both the booster and upper stage, with some engines failing to ignite during attempted recovery burns. The booster fell into the Gulf of Mexico, while the Starship test vehicle descended upright toward its planned target in the Indian Ocean, toppled on impact and erupted in flames in a deliberately non-recoverable end to the mission. SpaceX described the outcome as consistent with the test objectives for this trial. NASA, which is paying SpaceX billions of dollars to develop Starship as a lunar lander for its Artemis program, monitored the test closely, and Administrator Jared Isaacman attended the launch, saying the flight brought Starship a step closer to supporting future moon missions.

Prepared by Christopher Adams and reviewed by editorial team.