SpaceX Starship (Version 3) 12th Flight Test: Pre-launch | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Starship (Version 3) 12th Flight Test: Pre-launch | Starbase Texas

Go Starship! Go SpaceX! The 12th flight test of SpaceX's Starship is preparing to launch as soon as today, Thursday, May 21, 2026, from Pad 2 at Starbase, Texas. The 90-minute launch window opens at 5:30 p.m. Central Time (CT).

Learn about today's flight test objectives here: 
https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-12

A live webcast of the flight test will begin about 45 minutes before liftoff. Watch here:
https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-12

As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change, so stay tuned for updates.

Today's flight will debut the next generation Starship and Super Heavy vehicles, powered by the next evolution of the Raptor engine. Read more about the key upgrades designed to enhance performance and unlock Starship's full capabilities here: https://www.spacex.com/updates/starship-v3

As of October 13, 2025, the SpaceX Starship has been "launched 11 times with 6 successes and 5 failures." SpaceX has developed Starship with the intention of lowering launch costs using economies of scale. It aims to achieve this by reusing both rocket stages, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, creating a mass-manufacturing pipeline and adapting it to a wide range of space missions.

NASA plans to use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis IV mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program.

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)
Release Date: May 20, 2026

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