What Starship Flight 12 Means for SpaceX’s IPO

Mostly successful debut of company’s largest rocket yet represents a key step toward grander ambitions.

Jack Daleo

Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at 09:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

SpaceX’s Version 3 (V3) Starship launches on its debut suborbital test flight on Friday. [Credit: SpaceX]

Key Takeaways:

SpaceX's 12th Starship test flight, featuring the new V3 vehicle, was largely successful despite multiple engine failures, achieving its suborbital trajectory, deploying test satellites, and showing improved heat shield performance.
This progress is crucial for SpaceX's future plans, including beginning orbital Starlink deployments by H2 2026 and supporting NASA's Artemis lunar missions by 2028, which could positively impact its anticipated IPO.
Despite the engine anomalies that caused the Super Heavy booster's hard splashdown, the FAA has not required a mishap investigation, allowing for continued test flight momentum.

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Ahead of what observers anticipate will be the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history, SpaceX debuted its largest rocket yet on a mostly successful mission.

Though Starship and the Super Heavy booster—which combined stand more than 400 feet tall, nearly the length of a Boeing 777—suffered multiple engine failures, the ship achieved its planned suborbital trajectory and deployed a batch of dummy Starlink satellites. For the first time, two of these used cameras and sensors to scan Starship in space.