SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket, now updated to be the largest the company has ever launched, is ready to soar as early as next week — seven months after the last test flight.
The upgraded Starship Version 3, measuring 407-feet tall, is set for its 12th flight on May 19, with the launch window open at 6:30 p.m. EST, SpaceX said Wednesday.
The rocket will launch from SpaceX’s Starbase headquarters in Texas using a newly designed pad to show off the next-generation rocket and Super Heavy thrusters, the company added.
“The flight test’s primary goal will be to demonstrate each of these new pieces in the flight environment for the first time, with each element of the Starship architecture featuring significant redesigns to enable full and rapid reuse that incorporate learnings from years of development and test,” SpaceX said in a statement.
The Starship V3 measures four feet taller than its processor, with the spacecraft set to be more powerful than all other previous versions seen before.
The upgrades have seen the rocket’s Super Heavy boosters and raptor engines upgraded to provide more thrust at liftoff, with a redesigned propulsion system now able to carry more fuel for long-duration missions.
Starship V3 may be the final model SpaceX lands on to finally reach orbit and refuel its upper stage midflight, a complex task essential for long-distance missions off Earth.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has often touted Starship as the vehicle that will take a new generation of astronauts to the moon and Mars, with the program central to NASA’s Artemis moon program.
Next week’s launch comes seven months after SpaceX successfully completed its 11th test flight, which saw the rocket fly halfway across the world while releasing mock satellites.
It marked the second successful test flight after a series of explosions marred the seventh, eighth and ninth missions.
Like all the previous test flights, next week’s launch will be streaming live on SpaceX’s X account.