SpaceX

SpaceX Starship Test Flights: From the First Launch to Orbit

NASA selected a refuelled Starship derivative as its Artemis lunar lander in 2021, making the Starbase flight-test campaign part of the Moon program's critical path. After Flight 1 damaged the pad and was destroyed, SpaceX progressed through hot staging, controlled reentries, soft splashdowns and tower catches, while FAA investigations and licence changes followed several losses.