SpaceX is targeting this month for the 12th launch of its gargantuan Starship rocket, which comprises the first-stage Super Heavy booster and upper-stage Ship.
While much has rested on each and every one of its previous 11 test flights, the first of which took place in April 2023, the next launch is a big deal for the Elon Musk-led spaceflight company.
That’s because the mission involves a new version of the rocket, with its design based closely on the one that’s destined for future flights to the moon and possibly even Mars.
Version 3 of Starship incorporates structural refinements, more powerful engines, and a raft of lessons learned from earlier mishaps and failures. The entire vehicle is a little taller, too, at 124.4 meters compared to 123.3 meters, and features considerably larger grid fins for improved flight control.
The new design represents a shift from experimental prototype toward something closer to an operational system, with the redesigned rocket the first Starship capable of orbital flights.
The upcoming 12th flight will aim to demonstrate structural and systems upgrades across the vehicle, validate the performance of its latest Raptor engines, execute a clean stage separation and controlled ascent profile, and gather critical data on booster recovery systems that move the rocket closer to routine reuse, among other goals.
The Starship won’t need to perform a perfect flight, but it will need to convince NASA and its partners that progress is accelerating.
That’s because rival spaceflight company Blue Origin, led by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is knocking at the door.
Blue Origin is also competing for NASA contracts and could even provide the spaceflight hardware for the recently revamped Artemis III mission in low‑Earth orbit in 2027, putting extra pressure on SpaceX to demonstrate measurable progress with the Starship.
SpaceX currently has the contract for the Artemis III and Artemis IV missions (the latter of which will put astronauts back on the moon, possibly in 2028), but should Starship development falter, Blue Origin could step in.
Clearly there’s a lot to play for, though it’s worth noting that Blue Origin has far less flight experience with its New Glenn rocket and its untested Blue Moon lander, leaving SpaceX well-positioned to prove Starship’s reliability first.
SpaceX has yet to announce a specific target date for the Starship’s 12th flight. We’ll share news of it just as soon as we know.
After 13 suborbital test flights and more than $15 billion in development costs, SpaceX's Starship has finally reached orbit. The 407-foot megarocket, the most powerful ever built, lifted off from Starbase, Texas, on Monday and delivered its first real payload on it's 14th attempt. The celebration came with an asterisk, though, since SpaceX had to cut the planned 10-hour mission to roughly three hours.
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/2104601695711904180
SpaceX is finally ready to give Starship its biggest test yet. The company says the massive rocket's 14th test flight is scheduled for September 22, when it will attempt to put the upper stage into Earth orbit for the first time. The launch is currently pending regulatory approval, with a 75-minute window opening at 7:15 a.m. CT.
Starship has 26 Starlink satellites to deliver
For decades, humanity has looked up at the Moon and wondered what it would be like to live on it. Think sprawling cities, factories, research centers, and permanent human settlements. Unfortunately, there is one fairly fundamental problem with that vision.
A new study published in Frontiers in Space Technologies argues that even the Moon's potentially enormous reserves of frozen water may be nowhere near enough to support city-sized populations sustainably. Researchers Martin Elvis and Jonathan McDowell estimate that the permanently shadowed regions near the lunar poles could contain roughly one billion tons of water. It sounds like an extraordinary amount until you put a million thirsty humans next to it.