SpaceX Starship Flight 12 launch updates: 1st-ever Starship V3 test gets new launch date
Space • • business
Key Points:
- SpaceX's Starship Flight 12, featuring the new Starship Version 3 (V3), is now scheduled to launch on May 21, after two recent delays from the original May 19 date.
- The launch will occur from SpaceX's Starbase in South Texas during a 90-minute window starting at 6:30 p.m. EDT, with live coverage available on Space.com.
- The test flight will send Starship's upper stage on a suborbital trajectory, deploying 20 dummy Starlink satellites and two camera-equipped probes, with splashdown expected in the Indian Ocean about 65 minutes after liftoff.
- The Super Heavy booster will perform a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico approximately seven minutes after launch, continuing SpaceX's efforts toward full reusability of the Starship system.
- This flight is critical for SpaceX and NASA, as Starship is planned to serve as the lunar lander for NASA’s Artemis 4 mission in 2028, and aims to reduce launch costs for various future space projects.