SpaceX is preparing to launch its upgraded Starship Version 3 megarocket from Starbase, Texas, following a seven-month hiatus. A launch attempt could happen as early as Friday at 6:15 p.m. ET, following late-countdown technical holds on Thursday.
This 12th test flight debuts a taller vehicle equipped with lighter, next-generation Raptor engines that provide an extra 50,000 pounds of thrust per engine. While SpaceX eventually aims for total vehicle reusability, this hour-long suborbital flight will skip recovery, targeting controlled ocean splashdowns for both the booster and spacecraft.
The high-stakes test arrives as SpaceX positions itself for a record-shattering initial public offering (IPO), adding financial pressure to an inherently risky engineering program.
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SpaceX utilizes a “rapid iterative development” strategy, accepting hardware failures to accelerate engineering insights. “I think every test is always a success,” said Jenna Lowe, senior manager of Starship operations, noting that the data gathered helps “figure out where things are going to go wrong in the future.”
This high-risk approach has seen mixed results. While SpaceX successfully caught a booster with its “Mechazilla” tower in October 2024, the subsequent Version 2 campaign in 2025 resulted in multiple mid-air explosions that scattered debris over the Caribbean and the Bahamas. Ground tests in June and November 2025 also ended in vehicle destruction.
The June explosion triggered a major emergency response in nearby Brownsville, Texas, where an incident report noted that “dispatchers were forced into rapid-fire triage.” However, regarding the November pad explosion, Joe Petrzelka, vice president of booster engineering, stated that “the test site incurred very little damage and of course nobody was hurt.”
The outcome of the flight carries heavy geopolitical and commercial weight. US lawmakers view the timeline as critical to an ongoing space race with China, and NASA requires a functional Starship to land astronauts on the moon by 2028. Beyond lunar exploration, the vehicle is central to deploying SpaceX’s Starlink satellites and reducing global orbital payload costs.
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