SpaceX Targets Starship V3 Debut Launch
The test will debut upgraded Raptor 3 engines and a redesigned booster as SpaceX seeks full reuse and in-space propellant transfer.
- On Wednesday, May 20, SpaceX will launch the 12th test flight of its Starship V3 rocket from Starbase, Texas, with liftoff during a 90-minute window beginning at 6:30 p.m. EDT.
- As the largest version of the vehicle SpaceX has ever built, Version 3 Starship features upgrades to its 33 Raptor-class engines and is designed to fully utilize capabilities for reaching the Moon and supporting human space transportation.
- Standing 407 feet tall, the rocket will carry 22 dummy Starlink satellites to test heat shield readiness, and SpaceX will provide a livestream beginning 45 minutes before liftoff.
- The vehicle is expected to reenter Earth's atmosphere at the 47 minutes, 47 second mark of the flight, with splashdown in the Indian Ocean rather than a return-to-launch-site capture.
- If launch conditions prevent liftoff on Wednesday, SpaceX could potentially attempt the mission again on Thursday, May 21, or Friday, May 22, as this testing is critical for NASA's Artemis mission to land astronauts on the Moon by 2028.
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SpaceX Is About to Launch the Most Powerful Rocket Ever
New Scientist: “SpaceX will fly an extensively upgraded Starship this week that will – if it launches successfully – break records as the tallest and most powerful rocket in history. The flight will be watched keenly at NASA, as the craft is vital to its plans to put humans back on the moon in 2028.” “Starship is made up of two parts: an upper stage, confusingly also called Starship, and a lower stage called Super Heavy. Since the last Starship …
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SpaceX set to launch Starship test flight on May 20: Here’s all you need to know
Elon Musk-owned SpaceX is scheduled to launch the gargantuan rocket on May 20, marking its first major test flight since late 2025 as the company continues to push the boundaries of space exploration.
This is a 123-meter Starship V3, what Elon Musk's space company is looking for with this operation.
The test flight will be similar to the previous ones - it will be a suborbital flight, and they will again test the docking of 22 fake Starlinks.
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