SpaceX tests Starship S39, largest rocket ever built VIDEO

SpaceX has successfully carried out the 12th test launch of its Starship system, deploying a prototype spacecraft from its Starbase facility.

The mission featured Starship S39, the first vehicle of the third-generation V3 design, which the company describes as the largest rocket ever built, standing 124 meters tall with a thrust of around 8,000 tons, Caliber.Az reports.

Watch Starship's twelfth flight test https://t.co/caRB1thMlg

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 22, 2026

Following separation from its booster, the spacecraft completed a partial orbit of Earth lasting slightly more than one hour before safely splashing down in the Indian Ocean near Australia. The flight marks another step in SpaceX’s iterative testing program aimed at refining the fully reusable launch system.

The company plans for Starship to serve as a universal platform, with different configurations supporting a wide range of missions, including crewed flights to low Earth orbit, satellite deployment, and exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as potential journeys to more distant destinations in space.

By Tamilla Hasanova