SpaceX targets – SpaceX is aiming for a 6:30PM Eastern-time window today, May 22, for Starship V3’s debut test flight after a scrub the night before. The earlier countdown was stopped by a technical issue Elon Musk described on X: a hydraulic pin holding the tower arm in place
At 6:30PM Eastern time today, May 22, SpaceX is trying again with Starship V3’s first test flight—after the company had to halt its debut attempt on May 21 just as it counted down from Starbase, Texas.
The reason was mechanical and specific. On X, Elon Musk said a hydraulic pin holding the spacecraft’s tower arm in place would not retract. That failure forced SpaceX to stand down, scrubbing what was already in motion.
This time, SpaceX is aiming to move through the basic flight steps while proving new systems. For this debut test, the goal is a successful launch, ascent, stage separation and landing. There’s a major procedural change built in: SpaceX will not attempt to catch the Super Heavy with the launch tower’s mechanical arms. Instead. it plans to land the Super Heavy at an offshore location in the Gulf of Mexico—renamed the Gulf of America in 2025 by President Donald Trump—for now.
Starship V3 itself is a different machine than earlier versions. The new configuration is about five feet taller. and both stages are set to run SpaceX’s more powerful Raptor 3 engines. The Super Heavy stage carries 33 Raptor 3 engines that can deliver a combined thrust of over 18 million pounds. designed to let the spacecraft carry heavier payloads—an ability SpaceX says it needs for longer journeys into space.
SpaceX also says the flight will debut advanced avionics designed for “high flight-rate, full reusability, and enhanced reliability,” with the company pointing to its website for those goals.
On the upper-stage Ship, SpaceX will attempt to deploy 20 Starlink satellite simulators and two modified Starlink satellites. The modified satellites include test hardware planned for Starlink V3 and will scan the Ship’s heat shield. using images to help the company judge whether the heat shield is effective enough for future missions that aim to return to the launch site. The Ship will also run maneuvers designed to intentionally stress its rear flaps and to mimic the trajectory future missions will use to return to Starbase.
If the countdown holds this evening, SpaceX says viewers can watch the attempt on its X account.
SpaceX Starship V3 Starbase Texas Raptor 3 hydraulic pin Super Heavy Gulf of America Starlink satellite simulators heat shield testing