SpaceX is ready for the highly anticipated debut of its next-generation Starship Version 3 mega rocket.
The high-stakes Flight 12 mission is scheduled to lift off during a 90-minute window opening at 5:30 p.m. CT from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas.
This launch marks the twelfth test flight overall but the very first for the redesigned V3 vehicle and the newly built Launch Pad 2.
The massive rocket, powered by upgraded Raptor 3 engines, aims to prove it can handle the intense pressures of space travel.
SpaceX stated on its website that “the flight test’s primary goal will be to demonstrate each of these new pieces in the flight environment for the first time.”
Unlike previous tests, SpaceX will not attempt to catch the Super Heavy booster with mechanical arms. Instead, the booster will execute a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico seven minutes after liftoff.
Meanwhile, the Starship upper stage will head on a suborbital trajectory toward the Indian Ocean carrying 22 dummy satellites to test deployment.
Space fans can watch the action live via SpaceX’s official webcast.
