BOCA CHICA, Texas — SpaceX launched an integrated test flight of its Starship rocket from Starbase on Sunday, accelerating efforts to qualify the vehicle for Artemis lunar missions and Mars operations. The company streamed the attempt live.

The flight paired the Super Heavy booster with an upgraded Starship upper stage, following earlier 2026 tests that refined the vehicle's heat shield and engine performance. SpaceX sought to validate booster catch or splashdown procedures and demonstrate in-space engine relights.

The launch came days after SpaceX and Louisiana officials began an environmental review of a proposed $100 billion rocket production facility, underscoring the company's manufacturing ambitions. NASA has contracted a Starship variant as the human landing system for its Artemis programme, adding pressure to prove reliability.

A successful outcome would move SpaceX closer to demonstrating full reusability, a capability Chief Executive Elon Musk has said is essential to lowering launch costs. Any anomaly would trigger a Federal Aviation Administration mishap review, potentially delaying the next test in the sequence.

The Federal Aviation Administration cleared the flight under SpaceX's existing Starbase licence, with the U.S. Coast Guard coordinating maritime exclusion zones in the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX said data from the flight would directly inform hardware already stacked for the following mission.