SpaceX Starship – SpaceX is preparing for Starship’s 12th flight test on Friday, May 22, after a launch attempt the previous day was scrubbed due to a reported hydraulic pin issue. The 90-minute window opens at 6:30 p.m. ET, with a livestream available on SpaceX’s website and i
SpaceX teams are working toward liftoff again after a scrubbed attempt pushed the clock forward by a day, setting the stage for Starship’s 12th test flight on Friday, May 22.
The 90-minute launch window opens at 6:30 p.m. ET at Starbase, SpaceX’s headquarters and launch site near the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas. SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket last lifted off from South Texas in October during an earlier test flight. and the company has since been preparing a next-generation version it says could be the one designed for long-range. orbit-refueling missions.
The day is expected to carry extra weight for investors and space watchers alike because Starship remains central to the company’s ambitions—from delivering larger Starlink satellite payloads into orbit to supporting the broader architecture NASA is pursuing under Artemis.
SpaceX targets flight 12 after May 21 scrub
SpaceX moved its target to Friday, May 22, after an attempt the previous day was scrubbed. The schedule comes after SpaceX twice delayed the launch by 24 hours after originally indicating it was working toward a May 19 launch.
On May 21, SpaceX scrubbed the Starship test flight following an issue that CEO Elon Musk said on X involved a “hydraulic pin holding the tower arm in place” not retracting.
SpaceX described the situation with the language typical of developmental testing, saying, “As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change.”
How to watch the Starship launch live
The launch will be streamed on SpaceX’s website and through its new X TV mobile app, with coverage beginning about 45 minutes before liftoff. SpaceX will also post updates on X.
What Starship is—and why Version 3 matters
Starship stands more than 400 feet tall when fully stacked and is widely described as the world’s largest and most powerful rocket. SpaceX is building it as a fully reusable transportation system, designed so both the rocket and spacecraft can return to the ground for additional missions.
In the years ahead, SpaceX says a lunar-lander configuration of Starship will be critical to NASA’s efforts to return astronauts to the moon under its Artemis program. Musk has also talked publicly about sending humans aboard Starship to colonize Mars.
Closer to Earth, Starship is designed to carry larger versions of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites and other payloads to orbit.
Flight 12 is set to debut Version 3 (V3)
At 407 feet tall, the next-generation Starship scheduled for this flight is the largest version SpaceX has ever built. If the mission proceeds as planned. this prototype—Version 3. or V3—would be the Starship model intended to reach orbit and perform midflight refueling. a capability SpaceX says could enable missions farther into space.
The integrated spacecraft is made up of two stages: a 236-foot-tall lower-stage booster called Super Heavy, and a 171-foot-tall upper stage also named Starship. Super Heavy provides thrust at liftoff, while the upper stage is where crew and cargo would be carried once the stages separate.
The booster is powered by 33 of SpaceX’s Raptor-class engines. SpaceX has described the core purpose of the flight test as testing both new pieces of hardware “in the flight environment for the first time.”
What happens next is bound to be closely watched, not just for whether Starship reaches orbit—but for whether the next generation of hardware can deliver the kind of operational flexibility SpaceX says it is building toward.
SpaceX Starship Starbase Artemis Starlink Version 3 V3 Super Heavy Raptor engines launch live stream