FAA Declares Starship Flight 12 a Mishap and Grounds the Rocket Pending Raptor 3 Engine Investigation
The FAA classified the May 22 Starship V3 test as a mishap on May 27, after Super Heavy Booster 19 failed its boostback burn and hard-splashed in the Gulf of America, grounding the program until SpaceX's investigation is approved.
Overview
The Federal Aviation Administration declared SpaceX’s Starship Flight 12 a mishap on May 27, 2026, five days after the rocket’s first version 3 test flight, and ordered the company to complete a supervised investigation before the vehicle can fly again. The agency’s formal classification halts Starship operations at a critical moment for SpaceX and for NASA’s Artemis lunar program, which depends on the vehicle to land astronauts on the Moon.
What Happened on May 22
Starship Flight 12 lifted off at 6:33 p.m. ET on May 22, 2026 from Launch Pad 2 at Starbase, Texas — the second attempt after the mission was scrubbed the previous day due to a hydraulic pin failure in the launch tower’s quick disconnect arm, according to SpaceQ Media.
The mission marked the inaugural flight of Starship version 3, featuring newly introduced Raptor 3 engines with a redesigned ignition system, increased thrust capability, and a lighter profile achieved by internally integrating sensors and controllers, as SpaceQ Media reported. All 33 booster engines ignited successfully at liftoff.
One minute and 42 seconds into flight, one engine on Super Heavy Booster 19 shut down; the vehicle continued on its ascent profile, according to TechTimes. After stage separation, however, the booster encountered a more severe problem. SpaceX reported the vehicle “was unable to light all planned engines and performed a partial boostback burn that ended early,” as noted by TechTimes. The planned boostback burn, which should have lasted approximately one minute, terminated in less than 20 seconds, according to SpaceNews. Booster 19 subsequently plummeted into the Gulf of America at roughly 1,500 km/h, SpaceNews reported.
During the broadcast, SpaceX communications team member Dan Huot noted: “We are not seeing as many booster engines ignited as we expected for boostback, but we are seeing six good engines on ship,” according to TechTimes.
Ship 39 Succeeds
Despite the booster anomaly, Ship 39 — the Starship upper stage — performed well. The vehicle lost one of its three Raptor Vacuum engines but the flight computer compensated by gimballing the remaining engines and extending their burn time, SpaceQ Media reported. Ship 39 successfully reached its planned sub-orbital trajectory, survived atmospheric reentry, and achieved a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean west of Australia one hour and six minutes after launch, according to Teslarati.
SpaceX deployed 22 objects during the mission, including 20 Starlink simulator satellites and two camera-equipped satellites designed to scan Starship’s heat shield from orbit — a capability intended to accelerate between-flight inspections, Teslarati reported.
Elon Musk celebrated the outcome on social media: “Congratulations @SpaceX team on an epic first Starship V3 launch and landing! You scored a goal for humanity,” per Teslarati.
The FAA Mishap Determination
The FAA defines a mishap as including “the failure to complete a launch or reentry as planned,” according to SpaceNews. Under 14 CFR Part 450 regulations, the agency must determine root causes and approve corrective actions before authorizing additional flights, as TechTimes noted.
On May 27, the FAA issued its formal determination: “After a thorough assessment of the operation, the FAA has determined the May 22 SpaceX Starship Flight 12 launch resulted in a mishap. The mishap involved the Super Heavy booster as it flew back to the Gulf of America after stage separation,” as reported by SpaceNews.
The agency confirmed that the booster’s debris fell within an FAA-activated debris response zone and that several aircraft experienced departure delays, though no public injuries or property damage occurred, SpaceNews reported.
The FAA stated it will “oversee the SpaceX-led investigation, be involved in every step of the process, and approve SpaceX’s final report,” according to Spaceflight Now. SpaceX declined to comment when contacted, per TechTimes.
What Comes Next
SpaceX has hardware ready for the next mission — Ship 40 and Booster 20 — but will likely forego orbital operations and tower catches pending investigation results, Spaceflight Now reported.
Investigation timelines based on historical precedent are measured in weeks to months. Blue Origin’s New Glenn mishap was declared complete within approximately 33 days, SpaceNews noted. NASASpaceFlight estimates a July-August 2026 window for Starship Flight 13, according to TechTimes.
The grounding arrives at a consequential moment for SpaceX beyond the launch program itself. The company’s IPO roadshow was scheduled for June 4, with trading potentially beginning June 12, 2026, making a pre-IPO Starship flight “unlikely based on current timelines,” TechTimes reported.
For NASA, the investigation delays demonstrations required for Artemis IV lunar landing missions targeted for 2028, including orbital propellant transfer and an uncrewed lunar landing capability, as TechTimes reported.
Flight 12 is SpaceX’s eighth mishap investigation across nine Starship test vehicles, according to Spaceflight Now. The investigation will focus specifically on the Raptor 3 engines, which made their program debut on this flight — introducing a new variable into an already complex engine failure analysis.
What We Don’t Know
The FAA has not announced a target completion date for the investigation. Whether the Raptor 3 engine failures on both the booster and upper stage during the same flight share a common cause remains to be determined. SpaceX has not disclosed technical details about the engine anomalies beyond its broadcast acknowledgment that fewer boostback engines ignited than planned.