SpaceX targets May 19 Starship launch

SpaceX said its next Starship test is preparing to launch as soon as Tuesday, May 19, from Starbase, Texas, with a launch window opening at 5:30 p.m. Central time. The company posted the schedule on its launch page and said a live webcast would begin about 30 minutes before liftoff. SpaceX described the mission as the twelfth flight test of Starship and said it would debut the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy vehicles, powered by a new version of the Raptor engine and flying from a newly designed launch pad. The company also said the schedule remained dynamic and could change. ### Why is this flight drawing attention before launch day? May 12 marked SpaceX’s public rollout of Starship V3, the company’s third-generation design for Starship and Super Heavy. In that update, SpaceX said the vehicles include changes to propulsion, thermal protection, pad interfaces and booster hardware, and that the redesign incorporates lessons from years of testing. (spacex.com) Flight 12 is the first mission SpaceX has tied directly to that new vehicle generation. The company said the primary goal is to demonstrate the redesigned hardware in flight for the first time, rather than to pursue a fully routine mission profile. ### What exactly is SpaceX planning to test on this mission? The booster will attempt launch, ascent, stage separation, a boostback burn and a landing burn at an offshore landing point in the Gulf of America, SpaceX said. (spacex.com) The company added that, because this is the first flight of a significantly redesigned vehicle, the booster will not attempt a return to the launch site for catch. (spacex.com) The upper stage will target several in-space and reentry objectives, according to SpaceX. Those include deploying 22 Starlink simulators, relighting a single Raptor engine in space, and carrying out reentry tests tied to future return-and-catch operations. Two of those payloads are meant to act as inspection vehicles. SpaceX said the last two simulators deployed will scan Starship’s heat shield and send imagery to operators as the company tests ways to assess whether the ship is ready for return to the launch site on future missions. (spacex.com) ### What is different about the heat-shield testing this time? (spacex.com) Several tiles on the ship have been painted white to simulate missing tiles and serve as imaging targets, SpaceX said. The company also said one heat-shield tile has been intentionally removed to measure aerodynamic load differences on adjacent tiles during entry. (spacex.com) SpaceX said Starship will also perform a maneuver intended to stress the structural limits of its rear flaps and a dynamic banking maneuver designed to mimic the trajectory of future missions returning to Starbase. The company framed those steps as experimental actions that build on earlier flight tests. ### Why is the booster catch being skipped? (spacex.com) SpaceX said the booster catch is being dropped because this is the first flight test of a significantly redesigned vehicle. The company’s Starship V3 update said the booster’s grid fins, catch point, fuel transfer system, thermal protection and pad connection hardware have all been reworked. (spacex.com) The redesign includes three grid fins instead of four, with each fin 50% larger, according to SpaceX. The company also said the fins were repositioned and the catch hardware was updated to support future lift and catch operations, even though that recovery step will not be attempted on this flight. ### Where can viewers track the launch and any changes? (spacex.com) SpaceX’s launch schedule lists Starship’s twelfth flight test as an upcoming mission from Pad 2 at Starbase, with a May 19, 2026 window of 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific time, equivalent to a 5:30 p.m. Central opening. The company said viewers should check its launch page and X account for updates because the timing could shift. (spacex.com) May 19 is the next public milestone on the company’s schedule. SpaceX said the webcast will start about 30 minutes before liftoff, and the mission page will carry countdown details and any revisions to the launch plan. (spacex.com 1) (spacex.com 2)