Jensen Huang visits SpaceX Starbase for Starship 11

Jensen Huang, NVIDIA’s chief executive, appeared at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas on May 16 as the company prepared for its next Starship launch, according to social media posts circulating from Boca Chica and SpaceX’s own launch schedule. The posts showed Huang near launch hardware and drew attention because they surfaced days before SpaceX’s next test flight. SpaceX says Starship’s twelfth flight test is set to launch as soon as Tuesday, May 19, from Starbase, with the launch window opening at 5:30 p.m. Central Time. NVIDIA and SpaceX did not immediately issue a formal joint statement on Huang’s May 16 visit. ### Why was Huang at Starbase now? May 19 is the next scheduled Starship test date, according to SpaceX’s launch page for Starship’s twelfth flight test. The company said the webcast will begin about 45 minutes before liftoff and described the mission as the twelfth flight test of Starship. Social media posts from Boca Chica placed Huang at Starbase on May 16, showing him touring parts of the site as SpaceX continued launch preparations. Reuters could not independently verify every image and clip in those posts, but the timing matches SpaceX’s published schedule for the next Starship test. ### Had Huang been to Starbase before? (spacex.com) October 13, 2025, is the last clearly documented visit by Huang to Starbase in official company material. NVIDIA said Huang hand-delivered one of the first DGX Spark systems to Elon Musk, whom NVIDIA identified as chief engineer at SpaceX, in Starbase, Texas, as the company began shipping the desktop AI system. (spacex.com) NVIDIA’s blog said that earlier visit took place at Starbase and showed Huang meeting Musk on site. The company tied the delivery to the rollout of DGX Spark, which it described as the world’s smallest AI supercomputer. ### What is SpaceX launching next from Starbase? SpaceX said the upcoming mission is Starship’s twelfth flight test, not an eleventh flight. (nvidianews.nvidia.com) The company’s official page says the launch is preparing to occur as soon as May 19, 2026, from Starbase, Texas. May 12 brought a separate SpaceX update introducing what it called Starship V3, the third generation of Starship and Super Heavy. (blogs.nvidia.com) SpaceX said the new version is powered by Raptor 3 engines and will launch from an entirely new launch pad, incorporating lessons from years of testing and development. ### What is Starbase, and why does it matter here? (spacex.com) Starbase, Texas, is SpaceX’s development, manufacturing, testing and launch site for Starship and Super Heavy, according to the company’s launches page. SpaceX describes the system as a fully reusable transportation system intended to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. (spacex.com) SpaceX says Starship is the most powerful launch vehicle it has developed and is designed to carry more than 100 metric tonnes to orbit in a fully reusable configuration. That makes Starbase the focal point for the company’s current heavy-lift test campaign and the obvious place for any high-profile visitor tied to Musk’s business orbit. (spacex.com) ### What can readers watch for next? Tuesday, May 19, is the next date on SpaceX’s schedule for Starship’s twelfth flight test. SpaceX said the launch window opens at 5:30 p.m. Central Time and that viewers can watch the live webcast on its site and on X beginning about 45 minutes before liftoff. (spacex.com 1) (spacex.com 2)