SpaceX’s Starship – the world’s largest rocket – is now even larger.
Surpassing 400 feet in height, the enormous Starship megarocket is on the cusp of launching for the first time in 2026 from South Texas.
And this time, SpaceX plans to debut a new version that will become the largest rocket the company has ever launched. The third generation Starship – not just bigger, but more powerful than the previous two iterations – is also due to get off the ground from a new launch pad at SpaceX’s Starbase headquarters.
Targeted for May, the long-awaited launch comes as the commercial spaceflight company billionaire Elon Musk founded in 2002 races to have Starship ready to serve as a lunar lander for NASA’s Artemis human moon landings. SpaceX is also in the midst of expanding its Starship operations to Florida to allow for a higher flight cadence.
Here’s everything to know about the next test flight, which SpaceX refers to as flight 12, as well as Starship Version 3.
When is the next Starship launch? What to know about flight 12
SpaceX is working toward a launch of its Starship rocket at 6:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, May 19 , the company announced. For the 12th time, the massive rocket will get off the ground from SpaceX’s Starbase company town and headquarters in Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border.
The flight test would be the first for Starship in more than seven months, when in October 2025 it launched on its 11th flight test since April 2023.
What is SpaceX Starship Version 3? V3 to make debut
The next version of Starship to launch from SpaceX’s Starbase will be the largest rocket the company has ever built. Standing at approximately 407 feet tall when fully stacked, the rocket is about 4 feet taller than its predecessor and more powerful than any iteration of the rocket that has launched to date.
Both the Super Heavy booster and the upper stage portion underwent significant upgrades in preparation for launch, according to SpaceX.
Among the changes SpaceX unveiled in a lengthy post on its website, SpaceX reduced the number of grid fins on the booster to help it land from four to three while enlarging each by 50% and making them stronger. The upper stage that flies in orbit, meanwhile, underwent a redesign of its propulsion systems that, among other benefits, allows it to carry more fuel for long-duration missions.
The rocket’s Raptor engines also were upgraded to provide more thrust at liftoff, according to SpaceX.
What is Starship? World’s largest rocket built for moon, Mars
If all goes to plan, Version 3 of Starship could be the model to finally reach orbit and refuel its upper stage midflight. The complex process requires two Starships equipped with docking adapters to meet in orbit to transfer hundreds of tons of super-cooled propellant.
The capability is necessary if Starship is ever to transport humans into deep space, including to Mars – as Musk has long envisioned. Starship also remains central to NASA’s Artemis moon program, as SpaceX (along with Blue Origin) is among the commercial companies contracted to design a lunar lander to take astronauts to the surface.
Similar to previous designs, the fully integrated spacecraft is composed of both a 236-feet-tall lower-stage booster known as Super Heavy, as well as a 171-feet-tall upper stage simply called Starship. Powered by 33 of SpaceX’s Raptor-class engines, the booster provides the initial burst of thrust at liftoff, while the vehicle is where the crew and cargo would ride in orbit after the stages separate.
SpaceX is developing the rocket to be a fully reusable transportation system – meaning both the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions – that can also carry larger versions of the company’s Starlink satellites and other payloads to space.
Starship to launch from upgraded launch pad at Starbase
For the upcoming mission, Starship will get off the ground from a completely new launch pad at Starbase.
The launch pad, called Pad 2, has been outfitted with an upgraded “propellant farm” that has increased storage capacity and more pumps, “enabling much faster vehicle filling for launch,” the company said. What’s more, the mechanical arms on the launch tower tasked with catching a returning booster – nicknamed “chopsticks” – are now shorter to allow them to move more quickly to track and secure Super Heavy as it descends.
See photos of SpaceX’s Starship megarocket
When could Starship launch in Florida?
Florida’s first landmark Starship launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center could also take flight in 2026 in late summer or early fall, according to the U.S. Space Force.
Plans to get the rocket off the ground from the Sunshine State come as SpaceX continues to ready longterm launch and landing operations at not only Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A, but Launch Complex 37 at the neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
What happened on previous Starship flight tests?
The massive rocket has encountered a number of anomalies and failures since its debut in April 2023 ended in a premature explosion, including fiery mishaps both on the test stand and mid-flight that have attracted plenty of headlines.
But SpaceX has also managed to demonstrate what a feat of engineering Starship has the potential to become.
Throughout the course of 11 flight tests to date, SpaceX has twice seen Starship deploy mock Starlink internet satellites, twice reused a Super Heavy booster and three times has caught a returning booster back at the launch site with giant mechanical arms known as “chopsticks.” The upper stage, meanwhile, has managed to consistently fly at a suborbital height, traveling halfway around the world while landing in the Indian Ocean.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com. Subscribe to the free Florida TODAY newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX reveals next Starship launch date as Florida prep continues
Reporting by Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Florida Today
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
