MUNICH \u2014 The first booster in the new generation of Starship vehicles suffered significant damage during a Nov. 21 test, adding to doubts about the vehicle\u2019s development schedule.<\/p>\n
The Super Heavy booster, designated Booster 18, was at a test site near SpaceX\u2019s Starbase, Texas, facilities in the early morning hours when the lower section of the booster appeared to burst, according to independent video. The booster remained standing, but images taken later showed part of the structure had ruptured.<\/p>\n
\u201cBooster 18 suffered an anomaly during gas system pressure testing that we were conducting in advance of structural proof testing,\u201d SpaceX said in a statement<\/a> later in the day.<\/p>\n Unlike a June incident at the same test site, when a Starship upper stage exploded during preparations for a static-fire test<\/a>, no propellant had been loaded and no engines were installed. The booster was undergoing tests to confirm it could handle pressures and loads.<\/p>\n The company provided no additional details, other than noting no personnel were injured. \u201cThe teams need time to investigate before we are confident of the cause,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n Booster 18 is the first Super Heavy built for version 3 of Starship. Changes from version 2 include an upgraded fuel transfer line similar in size to a Falcon 9 booster, an integrated hot-staging ring that remains attached to the top of the booster, the use of three instead of four grid fins for reentry and upgraded Raptor engines.<\/p>\n Those upgrades, alongside improvements to Starship\u2019s upper stage, are essential to SpaceX\u2019s plans to bring the vehicle into service for launching larger Starlink satellites and supporting NASA\u2019s Artemis lunar lander program.<\/p>\n Before the anomaly, the company was optimistic it would begin launching version 3 soon. \u201cWe\u2019re now super-focused on the version 3 rocket that will launch early next year,\u201d Kiko Dontchev, vice president of launch at SpaceX, said at the Economist Space Summit on Nov. 5. \u201cThat\u2019s really going to be our production rocket.\u201d<\/p>\n Multiple Starship V3 vehicles were in production, he said then, with a booster heading to the pad \u201cin days to weeks\u201d for testing. \u201cI\u2019m very hopeful we\u2019re going to fly early next year, maybe as early as January.\u201d<\/p>\n He acknowledged that Starship remains a development vehicle with a \u201cnontraditional approach\u201d to testing. \u201cAs long as we fail in a way that never hurts anyone or has an issue where it drastically sets us back, it\u2019s OK to learn through testing,\u201d he said. All 11 integrated Starship\/Super Heavy flights \u201chave been iterative successes in the sense that we\u2019ve learned a ton.\u201d<\/p>\n The incident could increase pressure on NASA to revise its Artemis lunar landing plans. SpaceX is under contract to provide a Starship-based lunar lander for Artemis 3, officially scheduled for 2027. Even before this setback, it was clear the company was significantly behind schedule, potentially by years<\/a>.<\/p>\n NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy announced Oct. 20 he would \u201copen up\u201d the Artemis 3 lander contract<\/a>, requesting acceleration plans from both SpaceX and Blue Origin, which holds a lander contract for Artemis 5.<\/p>\n