SpaceX is preparing to launch its next-generation Starship, the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built, as early as Tuesday, May 19. The company announced that this will be the 12th test flight of the Starship program.
The launch window opens at 6:30 p.m. EDT from Starbase in southern Texas. The countdown schedule promises 'excitement guaranteed' rather than a simple liftoff. Previous tests have seen fiery explosions and setbacks, but the 10th flight in August 2025 was successful despite some damage, and the 11th in October went smoothly.
The latest Starship, consisting of a Starship spacecraft and a Super Heavy booster, stands 407 feet tall—taller than a football field and about 85 feet taller than NASA's Space Launch System. It features upgraded Raptor 3 engines and will lift off from a redesigned launchpad.
The test flight is expected to last just over an hour. The spacecraft will separate from the Super Heavy booster, which will return for a water landing in the Gulf of Mexico. Since this is the first flight of a significantly redesigned vehicle, SpaceX will not attempt to catch the booster at the landing site.
During the flight, the Starship spacecraft will deploy 22 Starlink simulator satellites. Two of these dummy satellites will scan the heat shield, which has one tile intentionally removed to measure aerodynamic loads.
If successful, the spacecraft will practice relighting a Raptor engine in space before a controlled splashdown in the ocean. The Super Heavy booster also includes new grid fins for stability and a redesigned fuel transfer tube for simultaneous ignition of all 33 engines.
SpaceX's changes aim to achieve full and rapid reuse, in-space propellant transfer, Starlink satellite deployment, and missions to the Moon and Mars. NASA relies on commercial partners like SpaceX to return humans to the Moon, with a Starship variant being developed for lunar landings.