SpaceX to Launch Starship Version 3 on Flight 12

Starship Version 3 is here. This is an entirely new rocket from literally the ground up. Dubbed “Stage 0” by Elon Musk, the ground support equipment (GSE) including the launch mount, integration support tower, water deluge plumbing, and fueling systems are all brand new. An integral part of the Starship system, Pad 2 is complete and ready to support the worlds largest launch vehicle.

Photo: Matthew T.

SpaceX successfully stacked Ship S29 onto Super Heavy Booster 19 on Tuesday May 19th in preparations for the 12th Test Flight of Starship.

Photo: Matthew T

Super Heavy has been redesigned, re-configured, and re-fit with the newest version of SpaceX’s venerable Raptor Engine. This is the world’s most advanced, most efficient, and most powerful rocket engine (from a thrust to weight metric).

Here are some stats:

Raptor 3 has the highest thrust to weight ratio of any rocket engine ever created at 200, and the highest chamber pressure of 330 bar (350 in testing).

As a comparison Blue Origin's BE-4 engine is 3.5x heavier and but only 1.16x the thrust.

Starship has 3.77x the total thrust of New Glenn but only 1.33x the engine mass.

Super Heavy lifts off with 18.1 million ft/lbs of thrust from all 33 engines, which is 2.4x the Saturn V and 2x SLS.

Photo: Matthew T

The stakes for Flight 12 are high, it has to succeed by all metrics to keep the Starship program on track, but also NASA’s Artemis Program on schedule. It’s been over three years since the first Starship vehicle took flight, and months since the last version flew. SpaceX has been faced with many setbacks on Version 3 before it’s even flown, with the loss of two different vehicles during testing, leading to schedule delays and an anxious space community.

SpaceX completed it’s a tanking test on May 20th in preparation for launch, scheduled for NET Thursday the 21st at 5:30pm local time. Liftoff will occur from Starbase, Texas, flying in a southeast trajectory (south of Cuba this time). Starship will accelerate just short of orbital velocity, targeting a soft water touchdown in the Eastern Indian ocean off the coast of Australia. They are poised to checkout multiple systems on the vehicle, including deploying dummy Starlink satellites, and in-atmosphere maneuvers during reentry.

Photo: Joaquin P.

Our team is currently at Starbase tracking the launch preparations and will be ready for when Flight 12 lifts off.