Overview

• A fuel leak caused the upper stage to lose attitude control and break apart over the Indian Ocean, nullifying the mission’s payload deployment objectives.
• For the first time, SpaceX flew a reused Super Heavy booster, though it failed to execute a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Unlike the previous two attempts, this flight saw the upper stage reach space and conduct its planned engine maneuvers before re-entry failure.
• Elon Musk described the outcome as a "great improvement" and said SpaceX will shorten the intervals between Starship launches to three or four weeks.
• The Starship system, vital to NASA’s Artemis lunar program and SpaceX’s Mars ambitions, remains under iterative testing despite recurring setbacks.