SpaceX Targets May 19 for Starship V3 Debut from Pad 2

SpaceX has set its sights on a no-earlier-than Tuesday, May 19, liftoff for the debut of the third major version of its Starship-Super Heavy stack. The update followed completion of an integrated tanking test the previous day. In that rehearsal that mirrored a full countdown sequence, the company loaded more than 5,000 metric tonnes (11+ million pounds) of propellant aboard the fully integrated Starship and Super Heavy V3 stack for the first time.

Flight 12 will represent the initial outing of the collective design known as Starship V3 while also marking the inaugural use of Pad 2. This upgraded facility incorporates launch and catch infrastructure. The V3 vehicles will fly with an updated Raptor engine design called Raptor 3.

“The flight test’s primary goal will be to demonstrate each of these new pieces in the flight environment for the first time, with each element of the Starship architecture featuring significant redesigns to enable full and rapid reuse that incorporate learnings from years of development and test,” SpaceX said on its website. The test will evaluate a host of changes made to both the launch vehicle and the launch infrastructure as SpaceX prepares to support the Artemis 3 mission in 2027.

Like earlier Starship trials, the trajectory stays suborbital. Given the array of novel hardware involved, the company will skip attempts to catch either the Ship 39 upper stage or the Booster 19 first stage. Instead, Booster 19 is slated for a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico (referred to as Gulf of America by the U.S. Government) roughly seven minutes after launch. Ship 39 will target a water landing of its own in the Indian Ocean a little more than an hour after liftoff.

The booster now features an integrated hot stage that leaves the forward dome of its fuel tank exposed while the upper stage lights its engines. A non-structural steel layer, working together with internal tank pressure, protects the liquid methane tank from the exhaust plume.

As on Flights 10 and 11 the year before, the upper stage will release simulator Starlink satellites—22 of them this time, roughly double the prior count—with two carrying fresh capabilities. “The last two satellites deployed will scan Starship’s heat shield and transmit imagery down to operators to test methods of analyzing Starship’s heat shield readiness for return to launch site on future missions,” SpaceX said. “Several tiles on Starship have been painted white to simulate missing tiles and serve as imaging targets in the test.”

Flight 12 will also fly a much more intact heat shield than before. Where earlier missions deliberately flew with several tiles omitted, only a single tile is planned to be absent at liftoff. “For Starship entry, a single heat shield tile has been intentionally removed to measure the aerodynamic load differences on adjacent tiles when there is a tile missing,” SpaceX said.

The Raptor 3 engines bring further performance gains. “Raptor 3 engines deliver increased thrust, with sea-level variants now producing 250 tf (551,000 lbf) up from 230 tf (507,000 lbf), while vacuum engines produce 275 tf (606,000 lbf) up from 258 tf (568,000 lbf),” SpaceX said.