SpaceX prepares to launch next-generation Starship, the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built

SpaceX will launch its next-generation Starship — the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built — as early as Tuesday (May 19), the company announced.

Starship V3's maiden voyage to space will be a big test for SpaceX, which wants to land humans on the moon for NASA in 2028 and hopes to avoid the kind of spectacular explosions that have plagued some previous Starship tests.

The launch window for what will be Starship's 12th test flight opens at 6.30 p.m. EDT at Starbase in southern Texas. As with previous Starship tests, the launch countdown schedule doesn't end with "Starship liftoff" but rather "excitement guaranteed."

SpaceX has experienced its fair share of setbacks with Starship. Last year, the seventh and eighth Starship test flights saw fiery debris rain from the heavens. The ninth fell short of its target, and a Starship exploded on the launchpad during a routine test before the 10th. However, Starship did end up having a successful 10th flight in August 2025, despite taking some damage, and its 11th run, in October, was clean.

The latest Starship, made up of a Starship spacecraft and a Super Heavy rocket, stands 407 feet (124 meters) — taller than a football field is long and about 85 feet (26 m) taller than the NASA Space Launch System that carried the Artemis II mission to orbit. It boasts a suite of upgrades over its predecessor, including new Raptor 3 engines, and it will lift off from a newly designed launchpad, according to a statement from SpaceX.

What will happen during the Starship V3 flight?

If all goes according to plan, the upcoming test flight will last a little over an hour. Starship is supposed to go up in a suborbital trajectory. The spacecraft will detach from the Super Heavy booster, which will flip around and return to Earth for a water landing in the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX is known for returning its rockets to land. But because this is the first test flight of a "significantly redesigned vehicle," the company won't attempt its landing site "catch."

After it ditches the Super Heavy booster, the Starship spacecraft is scheduled to deploy 22 Starlink simulator satellites. These dummy satellites will be similar to the next generation of Starlink satellites. Two will also scan the Starship's heat shield, which SpaceX has deliberately compromised.

"For Starship entry, a single heat shield tile has been intentionally removed to measure the aerodynamic load differences on adjacent tiles when there is a tile missing," a SpaceX spokesperson wrote in the statement.

Finally, a successful test flight would see the spacecraft practice relighting one Raptor engine in space, before dropping down for a controlled splash landing in the ocean. (SpaceX didn't specify where.)

Changes to Starship

The third version of the Super Heavy booster has a variety of novel features, including new grid fins at the bottom of the booster for stability during landing, and a completely redesigned fuel transfer tube to allow all 33 of the new engines to ignite at the same time. The Raptor 3 engines themselves are supposed to deliver more thrust than previous models.

Starship V3 also boasts new features. For example, the spacecraft has a redesigned propulsion system that allows for a new engine startup method, a higher fuel tank volume and an improved reaction control system for steering, according to SpaceX. Finally, changes to Starship's launchpad include increased storage capacity for the propellant and more pumps so the rocket can be filled faster.

The company said these changes "aim to unlock the vehicle's core functions, including full and rapid reuse, in-space propellant transfer, deployment of Starlink satellites and orbital data centers, and the ability to send people and cargo to the Moon and Mars."

What does this mean for the moon?

NASA is relying on commercial partners to help return humans to the moon. This includes a commercial lunar lander that NASA needs to ferry astronauts to the lunar surface during the upcoming Artemis IV mission. SpaceX has been developing a moon-landing variant of its Starship for that job, but the company faces competition from rival Blue Origin and its Blue Moon lander.

NASA's moon-return plan is a little complicated, but basically, the space agency aims to send astronauts to the moon in its Orion spacecraft, as tested in the historic Artemis II mission, before rendezvousing with a commercial lander in lunar orbit. The commercial lander will then take the astronauts to the surface and launch them back up to Orion for the trip home. Next year, NASA will test docking Orion with one or both of its commercial lander options in low Earth orbit.

NASA is clear that lander readiness will determine which commercial provider gets to take astronauts to the lunar surface in 2028. Of course, this assumes NASA is also ready by then. The Artemis program is behind schedule and over budget and, at the time of writing, doesn't have suitable spacesuits for a moon landing, which it is waiting on from another commercial provider.