SpaceX targets May 19 Starship V3 debut

SpaceX is aiming to launch the first flight of Starship V3 on Tuesday, May 19, in the next major test of the company’s heavy-lift rocket program. The company said Flight 12 would open a launch window at 5:30 p.m. (spacex.com) Central time from Starbase in South Texas, with a webcast starting about 45 minutes before liftoff. The mission would be the first use of what SpaceX calls the third generation of Starship and Super Heavy, and the first launch from a newly designed pad at Starbase. (spacex.com) SpaceX said the flight’s main objective is to demonstrate the redesigned vehicle and ground systems in flight for the first time. NASA is also watching Starship closely because the agency’s Human Landing System program identifies that vehicle class as the transportation system meant to carry Artemis astronauts to the lunar surface. NASA says the Human Landing System is the mode of transportation that will take astronauts to the moon as part of Artemis. (spacex.com) ### What is different about Starship V3 on this flight? SpaceX said on May 12 that Starship V3 and Super Heavy V3 incorporate “learnings from years of flight testing and development” and are powered by Raptor 3 engines. (spacex.com) The company described the vehicles as a third-generation design launching from an entirely new pad. The booster has three grid fins instead of four, with each fin 50% larger, according to SpaceX. The company also said it replaced the previous single-use protective interstage with an integrated hot stage and redesigned the fuel transfer tube that feeds 33 Raptor engines. (nasa.gov) SpaceX said the ship itself includes a clean-sheet redesign of propulsion systems, larger propellant tank volume and changes to the reaction control system used for steering in flight. The company said those changes are intended to support a new Raptor startup method and reduce volumes where leaking propellant could collect. (spacex.com) ### Why is the new launch pad part of the story? Starbase is using the new pad for the first time on Flight 12, according to SpaceX and Spaceflight Now. SpaceX said the vehicle would launch from a newly designed pad, while Spaceflight Now reported the mission would be the first launch from Pad 2. (spacex.com) SpaceX said the new pad is part of a broader redesign aimed at full and rapid reuse. Spaceflight Now reported Pad 2 was built to support both launch and catch operations, though Flight 12 will not attempt a return-to-site catch. (spacex.com) ### What will Flight 12 try to do in the air? SpaceX said the booster’s main objectives are launch, ascent, stage separation, a boostback burn and a landing burn before an offshore landing in the Gulf. Because this is the first flight of a significantly redesigned booster, the company said it will not try to return it to the launch site for capture. (spacex.com) The upper stage is set to attempt several in-space tests, including deployment of 20 Starlink simulators and two modified Starlink satellites. SpaceX said those two satellites will test hardware planned for Starlink V3 and try to scan Starship’s heat shield and send imagery to operators. (spacex.com) SpaceX also plans an in-space relight of one Raptor engine and a reentry sequence that includes intentionally stressing the vehicle’s rear flaps and performing a banking maneuver tied to future returns to Starbase. The company said one heat-shield tile has been intentionally removed to measure loads on adjacent tiles. (spacex.com) ### How does this connect to NASA’s moon plans? NASA says the Human Landing System is the vehicle that will take Artemis astronauts to the lunar surface. SpaceX is developing a Starship-based version of that system for the lunar program. (spacex.com) The May 19 flight is not a lunar mission, and SpaceX has framed it as a development test of the launch system and pad. But the company’s work on reusability, in-space operations and ship performance feeds into the broader Starship program that NASA has selected for lunar landing missions. (spacex.com) That connection is an inference based on NASA’s HLS role for Starship and SpaceX’s stated flight-test goals. ### Where can people follow the next step? SpaceX said its live webcast for Flight 12 will begin about 45 minutes before the opening of the May 19 launch window. (nasa.gov) The company said updates would also be posted on its launch page and X account because the schedule remains dynamic. (spacex.com)