SpaceX cancels May 20 NOTAMs, site bug shows

SpaceX’s website on May 19 continued to show Starship Flight 12 “preparing to launch as soon as Wednesday, May 20,” even as independent launch watchers said airspace notices tied to that date had been canceled and a mission page briefly malfunctioned. SpaceX had not posted a public statement on the reported change by the time of writing. The company’s launch page still listed a May 20 window opening at 5:30 p.m. Central time and said the schedule was “dynamic.” The mismatch left a familiar kind of Starbase ambiguity: formal launch planning indicators were moving, but SpaceX’s own public-facing schedule had not yet caught up in a clearly explained way. That matters because outside observers often use FAA-linked notices, road closures and SpaceX web updates together to gauge whether a Starship attempt is still on track. (spacex.com) ### Which launch was affected? Starship Flight 12 is the mission at issue. SpaceX’s mission page says the test would debut the next-generation Starship and Super Heavy vehicles from Pad 2 at Starbase in South Texas, with a webcast planned about 45 minutes before liftoff. The page also says the booster would target an offshore landing point rather than a return-to-launch-site catch on this first flight of the redesign. (spacex.com) SpaceX’s broader launches page also showed “Starship’s Twelfth Flight Test” in its upcoming manifest for May 21, 2026, 17:30-19:00 PT, which corresponds to the May 20 evening window in Texas. ### What did the earlier notices show? FAA-sourced notice aggregators showed launch-related restrictions for Starship Flight 12 that included a May 20, 2026 window from 10:30 p.m. (spacex.com) UTC to 12:43 a.m. UTC, followed by backup opportunities on later dates. One such notice, A0153/26, listed May 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28 and 29 windows for “LAUNCH OF SPACEX STARSHIP FLT-12.” A separate reentry hazard notice also showed a May 20 window in search results. (spacex.com) Those notices had been one of the clearest public signs that SpaceX was working toward a May 20 attempt after earlier reporting pointed to a one-day slip from May 19. Florida Today reported on May 18 that SpaceX had delayed the debut of its Version 3 Starship by 24 hours, while the Corpus Christi Caller-Times reported on May 19 that the launch had been rescheduled for Wednesday, May 20. (space-notices.com) ### What exactly was the website problem? Independent X users said on May 19 that a SpaceX mission page was returning errors and flagged that as another sign the schedule could be slipping. Reuters could not independently verify the duration or cause of the reported bug from SpaceX, but the company’s Starship Flight 12 page was accessible when checked and still carried the May 20 language. (floridatoday.com) The company’s page itself includes a caution that “as is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change.” That wording has become standard on SpaceX test-flight pages, particularly for Starship campaigns that depend on technical readiness and regulatory coordination. ### Why do outside watchers focus on NOTAMs? (spacex.com) FAA notices to air missions, or NOTAMs, are one of the public breadcrumbs used to track launch readiness because they warn pilots about temporary hazards and restricted airspace. For Starship, those notices are usually read alongside marine notices, local road closures and visible vehicle movements at Starbase. The FAA’s own NOTAM search portal says recently entered notices may not display immediately because of processing delays and that the site is informational. (spacex.com) NASASpaceflight’s update forum, which tracks Starbase operations closely, had earlier logged continuing NOTAM publication for Flight 12 and on May 20 cited another user post saying one notice had been updated to support launch on May 20. ### Where would SpaceX confirm any delay? SpaceX says on its Flight 12 page that viewers should “check in here and stay tuned to our X account for updates.” The company’s launch page and the dedicated Flight 12 mission page remain the clearest public checkpoints for any official change to the May 20 target. (notams.aim.faa.gov) (spacex.com) (forum.nasaspaceflight.com)