The booster couldn't complete the burn needed for that maneuver.
En la madrugada del viernes, SpaceX lanzó su Starship V3 en una prueba que mezcló logros técnicos con contratiempos inevitables, como suele ocurrir en los grandes saltos de la ingeniería humana. El cohete superó la presión máxima aerodinámica y ejecutó con éxito la separación en caliente entre etapas, dos hitos críticos para el programa lunar Artemis III de la NASA, previsto para finales de 2027. Sin embargo, fallos en los motores del propulsor Super Heavy impidieron el aterrizaje controlado, y Starship continuó su vuelo con cinco de seis motores operativos. La humanidad avanza hacia la Luna no en línea recta, sino a través de la acumulación paciente de lecciones aprendidas.
- El lanzamiento del Starship V3 representa la apuesta más concreta hasta ahora para llevar astronautas a la Luna en 2027, elevando la presión sobre cada prueba de vuelo.
- El propulsor Super Heavy perdió señal tras no poder completar la maniobra de retorno, salpicando probablemente en el Golfo de México sin el aterrizaje controlado que SpaceX necesita para su modelo de reutilización.
- Starship siguió volando con un motor menos, lo que obligó a cancelar una prueba clave de reignición en el espacio, una capacidad esencial para maniobras orbitales futuras.
- A pesar de los fallos, SpaceX desplegó 22 satélites simulados y recopiló datos del escudo térmico, avanzando en la reutilización que podría redefinir la economía del viaje espacial.
- La empresa mantiene su estrategia de iteración rápida: cada vuelo, exitoso o no, acorta la distancia hacia un cohete totalmente reutilizable y de bajo costo.
SpaceX lanzó el viernes su Starship V3 en una prueba que combinó avances significativos con fallas que recuerdan cuán difícil es domar la física. El objetivo central era validar tecnologías para la misión lunar Artemis III de la NASA, programada para finales de 2027.
El cohete superó el temido Max Q —el instante de máxima presión aerodinámica durante el ascenso— sin contratiempos. Luego ejecutó con éxito la separación en caliente entre etapas: una técnica en la que los motores del Starship se encienden mientras aún está unido al propulsor inferior, usando su propio empuje para desprenderse. SpaceX rediseñó esa unión estructural para reducir tiempos y costos de mantenimiento, y funcionó.
Los problemas llegaron después. El propulsor Super Heavy no logró reiniciar todos sus motores para la maniobra de retorno controlado, y SpaceX perdió contacto con él poco después. Casi con certeza cayó sin control en el Golfo de México. Mientras tanto, Starship continuó su trayectoria con cinco de seis motores activos, lo que obligó a cancelar una prueba de reignición en el espacio, considerada esencial para futuras reentradas controladas.
Durante el vuelo, la nave desplegó 22 satélites simulados para ensayar lanzamientos de Starlink, y dos de ellos fotografiaron el escudo térmico del vehículo para evaluar su estado. Esos datos son vitales: la reutilización rápida y económica de ambas etapas es el corazón del modelo de negocio de SpaceX. Por ahora, ese objetivo sigue siendo una promesa en construcción.
SpaceX sent its redesigned Starship V3 into the sky on Friday, and for most of the flight, the massive reusable rocket did what it was supposed to do. The test was meant to prove out technologies that could eventually carry astronauts to the Moon as part of NASA's Artemis III mission, scheduled for late 2027. But like most ambitious engineering projects, success and failure arrived in the same package.
Minutes after liftoff, the Starship and its Super Heavy booster passed through Max Q—the moment when a rising rocket experiences maximum aerodynamic pressure as it tears through the atmosphere at extreme speed. It's one of the most violent moments in any launch, and both stages handled it cleanly. What came next was the real test: separating the two stages using a technique SpaceX calls hot staging, where the upper stage's engines ignite while still physically attached to the booster below. Instead of relying on delicate pneumatic mechanisms, the company essentially uses the Starship's own thrust to rip itself free. For this version, SpaceX redesigned the structural connection between the stages, replacing disposable components with what the company calls an integrated hot staging structure. The goal was to cut down on refurbishment time and cost. The separation worked.
Then the problems began. When the Super Heavy booster attempted to fire its engines again for the "boostback" maneuver—the controlled flip that would orient it for a precision landing in the ocean—not all of the engines restarted properly. Dan Huot, a SpaceX engineer, acknowledged that the booster couldn't complete the burn needed for that maneuver. The company lost signal from the Super Heavy shortly after, and it almost certainly splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico without achieving the controlled landing SpaceX had hoped for.
Meanwhile, Starship continued its flight with only five of its six engines working. The remaining motors compensated enough to keep the vehicle on track, but the engine trouble forced SpaceX to cancel a planned test of in-space engine reignition—a capability the company considers essential for future orbital maneuvers and controlled reentries. It was a setback, but not a catastrophe.
During the flight, Starship also deployed 22 simulated satellites to test future launches of Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet network. Two of those dummy satellites were equipped to photograph and analyze Starship's heat shield, the hexagonal black tiles that protect the vehicle as it screams back through the atmosphere. Collecting that imagery and data matters because reusability is central to SpaceX's entire business model. The company wants both Starship and Super Heavy to land themselves, be recovered quickly, and fly again. If that works at scale, it could transform the economics of space travel. Right now, it remains a work in progress.
Notable Quotes
The booster did not complete the engine ignition needed to execute the boostback maneuver for controlled descent.— Dan Huot, SpaceX engineer
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
The booster failed to land itself, but the company seems to be treating this as acceptable. Why?
Because the upper stage—the part that actually goes to space—worked. The booster is expensive, but it's also the part they've been landing and reusing for years with Falcon 9. Starship is new. Getting the upper stage to perform is the harder problem.
But they lost signal. They don't even know what happened to it.
True. That's the part that stings. But they got data on the separation, on the engines, on the heat shield. For a test flight, that's the real payload.
What about Artemis III? Is this delay going to push back the Moon landing?
Not necessarily. The test proved the hot staging works, which is one of the critical pieces NASA needs. The engine issues are fixable. SpaceX has time before late 2027.
Twenty-two fake satellites. Why bother with that on a test flight?
Because you don't get many test flights. Every launch is a chance to gather data on something else. Starlink deployment, heat shield performance, separation dynamics. You stack the experiments.
The real question is whether they can actually reuse these things fast enough to make the economics work.
Exactly. That's what this whole program is really about. The landing failures matter only if they prevent reuse. If they can recover and reflew in weeks instead of months, everything changes.