STARBASE, Texas, May 21, 2026, 15:15 CDT
SpaceX is preparing to launch the first Version 3 Starship from its Starbase site in South Texas on Thursday, in a test flight meant to show whether the redesigned rocket can move closer to routine satellite launches, lunar missions and eventual reuse.
The 90-minute launch window opens at 5:30 p.m. local time. The suborbital flight, known as Flight 12, would be Starship’s first test flight of 2026 and the 12th overall since SpaceX began flying the fully integrated vehicle in 2023.
The timing matters. Version 3 is the Starship variant SpaceX is counting on for heavier payloads, in-space refueling and NASA’s Artemis lunar work, while investors are watching the vehicle ahead of an expected SpaceX initial public offering next month, Reuters reported. PitchBook senior research analyst Franco Granda called the launch the “single most important pre-IPO catalyst” left on SpaceX’s calendar. Reuters
The rocket, about 407 feet tall, pairs the Super Heavy booster known as Booster 19 with the upper-stage spacecraft Ship 39. Spaceflight Now said the booster is expected to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico, while Ship 39 targets the Indian Ocean after a flight lasting a little more than an hour.
SpaceX is not trying to catch either stage at Starbase on this flight. That is a step back from the more dramatic tower-catch attempts seen in earlier tests, but also a sign the company is treating the new design as a shakedown vehicle. Booster 19 is expected to perform a landing burn and come down offshore about seven minutes after launch.
The upper stage will try to release 20 Starlink simulator satellites and two modified Starlink satellites. SpaceX has said the modified spacecraft are meant to inspect Starship’s heat shield and send imagery back to operators, a check tied to future plans to return the vehicle to its launch site.
The flight plan also calls for a relight of one Raptor engine while Ship 39 coasts in space, a test that matters because orbital Starship missions will need engine restarts to steer back toward Earth. Starship will then test reentry handling and aim for a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
Starship V3 is designed to carry 100 metric tons or more to orbit, Spaceflight Now reported, far above the lift capacity of SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9. That would make it central to SpaceX’s plan to deploy larger next-generation Starlink satellites and lower the cost of launch through full reuse.
NASA also has a stake. The agency said Artemis III, planned for 2027, will test docking between Orion and one or both commercial lunar landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin, while Artemis IV is meant to support the next U.S. astronaut landing on the Moon. Jeremy Parsons, a senior NASA Moon-to-Mars official, called Artemis III “an important stepping stone” toward that landing. NASA
That puts Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander in the competitive frame. NASA is trying to avoid relying on a single lunar-lander provider, and the agency’s current plan gives both SpaceX and Blue Origin paths into the next stage of Artemis testing.
The risk is straightforward: this is a substantially redesigned rocket, and SpaceX has chosen an offshore landing profile rather than a return-to-pad catch. A delay, a failed engine relight or heat-shield trouble would not end the program, but it could slow the move toward orbital flights and add pressure to NASA’s already tight lunar schedule.
SpaceX’s test record has improved after early explosive failures. Space.com said the previous two Starship flights, Flights 10 and 11, met their main goals, including booster splashdowns and upper-stage payload deployments, giving Thursday’s flight a higher baseline but not a simple one.
