SpaceX Starship launches are on hold pending an investigation into last week’s test flight. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Wednesday (May 27, 2026) that the hour-long spaceflight resulted in a mishap based on the performance of the mega rocket’s first-stage booster.
Minutes after Starship blasted off from Texas on May 22, the booster separated as normal but engines conked out as it made its way back to Earth. Instead of a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, the booster came in hard. There were no reports of injury or property damage, according to the FAA, which will oversee the company’s investigation.
The spacecraft continued around the world, releasing 20 mock satellites before ending the mission as planned with a fiery splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
The 407-foot (124-metre) rocket is SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s biggest and most powerful Starship yet, designed to carry crews to Mars. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is looking for it to land astronauts on the moon as soon as 2028 and help build a lunar base.
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