The mission, referred to as Flight 12, will be the first test of what SpaceX calls Starship V3, featuring major upgrades to both the rocket and launch infrastructure. “Starship’s twelfth flight test will debut the next generation Starship and Super Heavy vehicles, powered by the next evolution of the Raptor engine and launching from a newly designed pad at Starbase. The launch is targeted as early as Tuesday, May 19,” the company said in a X post.
Starship’s twelfth flight test will debut the next generation Starship and Super Heavy vehicles, powered by the next evolution of the Raptor engine and launching from a newly designed pad at Starbase. The launch is targeted as early as Tuesday, May 19 → https://t.co/2gZQUxS6mm pic.twitter.com/JxmpL2WE4w
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 12, 2026
The new version includes redesigned Starship and Super Heavy vehicles that are upgraded with Raptor 3 engines and a newly built launch pad called Pad 2 at Starbase. According to SpaceX, the main goal of this mission is to test these new systems in flight for the first time and improve plans for rapid rocket reuse in the future.
Unlike tests that were previously conducted, this time SpaceX will not attempt to catch either stage of the rocket during landing because of the large number of new technologies being tested.
Instead, the Super Heavy Booster will make a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of America around seven minutes after liftoff. The upper stage will try to make a splashdown in the Indian Ocean about an hour later.
“The Starship upper stage will target multiple in-space and re-entry objectives, including the deployment of 22 Starlink simulators, similar in size to next-generation Starlink satellites. The last two satellites deployed will scan Starship’s heat shield and transmit imagery down to operators to test methods of analysing Starship’s heat shield readiness for return to launch site on future missions,” the company said on its official website.
The upcoming mission is considered important for future Moon and Mars missions, as the company plans to send cargo and people to both bodies.
Those who are interested in watching the mission unfold can catch it live on SpaceX’s website, its official X account, as well as on the X TV app.
