# Starship V3 splashes down, but Super Heavy crashes and FAA grounds flights
> Flight 12 proves the upper stage while the new booster flips and fails, investigation halts the program

**Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-05-22 · heads: Le jeu long, Ce qui a cassé · 10 takes · 3 lenses · 3 regions

## Summary

[SpaceX](/fr/entity/spacex) flew the first [Starship](/fr/entity/starship)/Super Heavy V3, Flight 12, from
Starbase on 22 May 2026, the first launch from Pad 2 and the first with Raptor 3 engines.
The upper stage performed: it deployed 20 dummy [Starlink](/fr/entity/starlink) satellites plus two
camera probes and splashed down on target in the Indian Ocean. The new Super Heavy booster
did not: after separation it flipped unusually fast, most engines failed, and it crashed into
the Gulf of Mexico at 1,450 km/h. On 27 May the [FAA](/fr/entity/faa) declared the booster failure a
mishap and grounded Starship pending a SpaceX-led investigation. V3 is the version SpaceX
needs for rapid reuse, Artemis lunar landings and [Starlink](/fr/entity/starlink) Gen-2 deployment, so
the booster regression matters more than the upper-stage win.

## By the numbers

- 12, flight number; first of the V3 vehicle and Raptor 3.
- 20, dummy Starlink satellites deployed on the suborbital test.
- 1,450 km/h, speed at which the Super Heavy booster hit the Gulf.
- May 27, date FAA declared a mishap and grounded the program.

## Why it matters

V3 is SpaceX's path to true reuse, to [Starlink](/fr/entity/starlink) Gen-2 mass deployment and to the
Artemis lunar lander. A booster regression plus an [FAA](/fr/entity/faa) grounding stalls the cadence
that the whole US space-access advantage, and [Golden Dome's](/fr/n/golden-dome-architecture-2026)
launch assumptions, rests on.

## What to watch

- Whether the mishap investigation finds a fixable cause or a V3 design issue.
- How long the FAA grounding holds, and the date of Flight 13.
- Whether Starlink Gen-2 deployment slips as a result.

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### unlabelled
- **SpaceX (Starship Flight 12)** (United States, en) — SpaceX's official flight page for the twelfth test: first flight of Starship/Super Heavy V3 and Raptor 3, first launch from Pad 2, deploying 20 dummy Starlink satellites and imaging probes.
  Source: https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-12
- **Space.com** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://www.space.com/news/live/spacex-starship-flight-12-launch-updates-may-22-2026
- **Wikipedia (Starship flight test 12)** (Global, en) — 
  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_flight_test_12
- **NextSpaceflight** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/8002/
- **Ars Technica** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://arstechnica.com/space/
- **Reuters** (Global, en) — 
  Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/
- **The Guardian** (United Kingdom, en) — 
  Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/spacex
- **Teslarati** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://www.teslarati.com/category/spacex/

### US space-trade
- **Spaceflight Now** (United States, en) — Reports the FAA declaring the Super Heavy crash a mishap on May 27 and grounding Starship pending a SpaceX-led investigation, the regulatory brake on Musk's cadence ambitions, framed against the V3's stated goal of high reuse.
  > "The FAA is requiring a SpaceX-led mishap investigation before Starship flights can resume."
  Source: https://spaceflightnow.com/2026/05/27/faa-requires-spacex-led-mishap-investigation-before-resumption-of-starship-launches/

### US mainstream
- **CNN** (United States, en) — Covers the scrub and then the launch of the 'amped-up' V3, emphasising the mixed result: a clean upper-stage splashdown in the Indian Ocean against a booster that flipped after separation and crashed at 1,450 km/h.
  > "The Ship splashed down as planned, but the booster flipped abnormally fast and most engines failed during the landing burn."
  Source: https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/21/science/live-news/spacex-starship-flight-12-version-3-launch

## Across the graph
- Related: [[golden-dome-architecture-2026]], [[china-launch-cadence-140-2026]], [[starlink-mobile-25m-2026]]
- Entities: Spacex, Starship, United States, Faa, Starlink

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Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/fr/n/starship-flight-12-booster-failure-2026