SpaceX rolled out an upgraded version of its megarocket for pre-launch testing, but images of the next-generation booster show signs of damage ahead of Starship’s first orbital flight early next year.
On Thursday, SpaceX began the initial round of pre-launch testing of Booster 18, the first Super Heavy for Starship’s version 3 that’s set to debut in 2026. Footage obtained of the company’s Massey test site in Texas showed the booster exploding at its outpost, and an image posted later on X also revealed severe damage to the rocket’s lower half where the liquid oxygen propellant is stored.
Booster 18 seems to have just exploded during testing at the Massey outpost. pic.twitter.com/fmVdYPmWvA
— LabPadre Space (@LabPadre) November 21, 2025
“The first operations will test the booster’s redesigned propellant systems and its structural strength,” SpaceX wrote on X. The company, however, didn’t comment on the damage sustained by the rocket during its testing.
Bigger is better?
Last month, Starship version 2 launched for the last time, ending a two-year run on a high note with a successful test flight. The rocket’s second iteration launched on a suborbital trajectory, but SpaceX is now turning its attention toward the third, larger version of Starship in preparation for the first orbital flight.
The next-generation Starship features a larger vehicle that’s capable of carrying more propellant. The rocket will also use a more powerful and efficient version of its engines, the third-generation Raptor engines. Although Starship’s last two test flights were a major success, they did follow a string of failed launches earlier this year that plagued the rocket’s path to operation. As such, there is a lot riding on the success of the latest Starship prototype. The new version of the rocket is meant to have several upgrades and design fixes to avoid version 2’s explosive streak.
Earlier in September, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk did admit that because “pretty much everything changes on the rocket with version 3,” there will be a learning curve with the new prototype. The upgraded Starship “might have some initial teething pains because it’s such a radical redesign,” he said during an interview.
It’s not clear whether the apparent explosion of Booster 18 was a mishap or intentional, as SpaceX may have been pushing the rocket to the breaking point—a deliberate failure—to see how it fares under extreme conditions. Either way, SpaceX is on a tight deadline to deliver a Starship that can land astronauts on the Moon in 2027 as part of NASA’s Artemis 3 mission. Due to delays in development, NASA’s acting head, Sean Duffy, recently revealed that the agency could reopen the Artemis 3 contract to SpaceX’s competitors.
Musk has also stated that he would like to send an uncrewed Starship to Mars during an upcoming launch window next year. That all depends on the next-generation Starship’s ability to reach orbit by next year and the company’s success in learning how to fly a bigger rocket on a new trajectory.
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