Updated May 20, 2026, 1:24 p.m. ET
- SpaceX has delayed the 12th flight test of its massive Starship rocket for a second time since announcing a target launch date.
- The company is now targeting Thursday, May 21, for the launch from Starbase in South Texas.
- This mission will debut a new, larger prototype of the rocket known as Version 3.
- Starship is being developed for future missions to the moon and Mars.
SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket isn’t launching today.
For the second time since billionaire Elon Musk‘s commercial spaceflight company announced the next target launch date for the world’s largest rocket, the flight test has been postponed another 24 hours. SpaceX is now eyeing May 21 to debut a next-generation version of its gargantuan Starship, which is being developed for trips to the moon and Mars.
The new Starship prototype, known as Version 3, is now looming more than 400 feet tall on a launch pad in South Texas after SpaceX on Tuesday, May 19, fully stacked both stages of the rocket.
Here’s the latest on the 12th-ever flight test for Starship, a mission SpaceX refers to as flight 12.
Is Starship launching today? SpaceX delays flight test another 24 hours
SpaceX is now working toward a Starship launch Thursday, May 21, the company announced. The 90-minute launch window for Starship’s 12th flight test is set to open at 6:30 p.m. ET.
The new target date comes after SpaceX has already once delayed the launch by 24 hours after originally indicating that it was working toward a May 19 launch of the world’s largest rocket. No reasons have been given for either delay.
In a sign that liftoff is imminent, SpaceX also shared photos of the Starship’s upper and lower stages being stacked on the launch pad at Starbase, SpaceX’s company town and headquarters in Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border.
What is Starship? World’s largest rocket bound for moon, Mars
Standing at more than 400 feet tall when fully stacked, Starship is regarded as the world’s largest and most powerful rocket.
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.
In the years ahead, a lunar lander configuration of Starship will be critical to NASA’s ambitions of returning astronauts to the moon under its Artemis program. Musk additionally dreams of sending humans aboard Starship to colonize Mars.
Closer to home, Starship is designed to carry larger versions of the company’s Starlink internet satellites and other payloads to Earth orbit.
See photos of Starship rocket launches
What is flight 12? SpaceX to debut Version 3 (V3) of Starship
At 407 feet tall, the next-generation Starship due to launch will be the largest version of the vehicle SpaceX has ever built. If all goes to plan, that prototype, known as Version 3 (V3,) will be the one to reach orbit and be capable of refueling midflight – a capability that will allow for distant missions into space.
Similar to previous designs, the fully integrated spacecraft is composed of both a 236-foot-tall lower-stage booster known as Super Heavy, as well as a 171-foot-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.
The main objective of the flight test, as SpaceX explained online, is simply to test both new pieces of hardware “in the flight environment for the first time.”
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com
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