SpaceX punts Starship V3 launch to May 21 as investigation opens into Starbase worker’s death

SpaceX launches Starship as investigation begins into death of Starbase employee

By Claire Cameron edited by Jeanna Bryner

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is preparing for what could be the most critical test of its Starship megarocket yet, as the company comes under scrutiny from federal officials who fear delays in the Starship program could eat into the planned timeline of NASA’s moon mission and affect the safety of workers at SpaceX’s Starbase complex in Texas.

The test flight was originally scheduled for last Friday, the same day emergency services responded to the death of a SpaceX employee at Starbase. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation into the incident; THE The Wall Street Journal reported that the person was a Starbase contractor who died in a fall, while social media posts indicated emergency vehicles outside the Gigabay building, a facility that SpaceX uses to produce and maintain Starship. It is unclear whether the delay in the timing of the next Starship launch is related to this incident; SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SpaceX initially pushed back the launch date to May 19 before announcing another delay over the weekend. It’s now targeting May 21, with a launch window opening no earlier than 6:30 p.m. EDT. SpaceX will stream the launch live on its website and YouTube.

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Starship is currently one of two proposed vehicles that NASA wants to use to transport its astronauts from lunar orbit to the Moon’s surface as early as 2028. The space agency also plans to test Starship’s ability to meet and dock its own crew capsule, Orion, in Earth orbit in 2027. But a federal watchdog report released in 2025 warned that Starship was seriously behind schedule — SpaceX has yet to show it can bring it back astronauts safely and successfully. the moon.

This test flight, SpaceX’s 12th overall, marks the first of the Starship V3, the latest and largest version of the vehicle, measuring about 407 feet (124 meters) tall when fully stacked. It is designed to put more than 100 tons of cargo into orbit and be fully reusable, but SpaceX has not demonstrated that the vehicle is orbit-ready. This test will also be suborbital and aims to show that the new hardware works as expected; Most previous tests of the Starship have ended in an explosion or the rocket disintegrating, although the two most recent tests were successful.

The outcome of Thursday’s planned demonstration could also set the tone for SpaceX’s highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO), which, with a likely valuation of $1.75 trillion, would make it the largest IPO ever. SpaceX has touted Starship as a capable vehicle that can help boost its commercial rocket launch business and develop its own internet satellite megaconstellation, Starlink, as well as its proposed space data center network.

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