The tallest machine ever built is standing. It waits on the pad.
SpaceX stacked Starship Version 3 yesterday, May 19. Two heavy pieces clicked together at Starbase in South Texas. The Super Heavy booster. The Ship upper stage. This is it. Flight 12. The first real look at V3.
They are aiming for 6:30 p.m. EDT on May 21. No earlier than that.
This isn’t their first time mated these two stages in the last few days. They rolled the ship into the hangar, checked it out, rolled it back out. Standard procedure for now. The Super Heavy side has been busy too. Test firings for those 33 Raptor 3? Done. The engines hum. The hardware proves it can survive.
The rocket was fully fueled on Wednesday.
They did a wet dress rehearsal. Filled both stages with cryogenic fuel. Ran the countdown all the way to T-0. Simulated the ignition. Did not actually launch. Just a rehearsal. But it was complete by May 20.
So where does it land? Not back at home. Not this time.
Flight 12 is suborbital. Ship will splash down in the Indian Ocean. Super Heavy drops into the Gulf of Mexico. Soft landings only. No catch attempts by the tower’s “chopstick” arms yet for the upper stage. SpaceX has caught the booster before. They just haven’t tried to grab the upper stage while it’s coming down.
Maybe Flight 13? Or 14? Depends on how well V3 handles this debut.
Watch it live. May 21. SpaceX’s website streams it. Space.com starts coverage at 5:45 p.m. EDT. Set a reminder.
V3 is bigger. Better. It has docking ports. Those ports are key for in-space refueling which means going beyond low Earth orbit. Beyond just staying nearby.
NASA is watching. Close.
SpaceX has the contract. Artemis wants their lander. The deadline is squeezing in. Artemis 3 targets late 2027. An Orion capsule carrying astronauts will launch to dock with Starship. They will link up. They will assess.
If that works, Artemis 4 in 2028 could actually see boots on the Moon.
Is V3 ready? That’s what today tests. The rocket stands tall. The countdown starts again soon. We just wait for the noise. 🚀
