SpaceX Targets May 19 Debut of Starship V3, Its 12th Flight With 22 Dummy Satellites
Updated
Updated · Space.com · May 12
SpaceX Targets May 19 Debut of Starship V3, Its 12th Flight With 22 Dummy Satellites
7 articles · Updated · Space.com · May 12
May 19 is the target for Starship V3’s first launch from South Texas, with liftoff set in a 90-minute window opening at 6:30 p.m. EDT.
Starship’s 12th overall flight will test a heavily redesigned vehicle and new Pad 2, with upgrades aimed at faster fueling, full reuse, in-space propellant transfer and future lunar and Mars missions.
Flight 12 will send Ship on a suborbital path, deploy 22 dummy Starlink V2 satellites about 17.5 minutes after launch, and relight one Raptor engine in space before an expected splashdown roughly 65 minutes after liftoff.
Super Heavy will make a soft Gulf of Mexico splashdown about seven minutes after launch instead of attempting a launch-site catch, because this is the first test of the significantly redesigned booster.
The mission would end Starship’s flight hiatus since October 2025, when the previous test flight went entirely to plan.
NASA's moon mission hinges on Starship V3. Can this radical redesign finally conquer the program's history of delays?
Could this single rocket test truly unlock a trillion-dollar space economy and pave the way for data centers in orbit?
Starship V3’s Maiden Flight: Inside SpaceX’s Most Powerful Rocket and Its High-Stakes Role in NASA’s Artemis Program (May 2026)
Overview
Starship V3’s maiden flight, set for May 19, 2026, marks a major milestone as the 12th overall Starship launch and the debut of a significantly upgraded, fully reusable rocket. This mission will introduce key technological advancements, including the powerful V3 Raptor engine and the first use of Starbase’s new Pad 2, which enables faster fueling. These upgrades are designed to further advance the Starship program, building on previous flights and aiming to improve operational efficiency and reliability as SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of space launch technology.