Starship Flight 12: Welcome to the Show Block 3 and Pad 2

Date:
Wed, 20 May 2026 23:52:00 +0000

Description:
Its been just over seven years since a raptor engine first fired aboard a vehicle The post Starship Flight 12: Welcome to the Show Block 3 and Pad 2 appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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Its been just over seven years since a raptor engine first fired aboard a vehicle called Starshopper on April 3, 2019. Since then, SpaceX has tested over 50 different vehicles and test tanks, and some have ended better than others. During all of this testing, SpaceX has learned many lessons about how to build a vehicle the size of Starship and a launch pad for it.

Flight 12 is the culmination of over seven years of work completed at Starbase. It combines a clean-sheet design for Ship, Booster, and Launch Pad, with the hope that this will propel the Starship program to operational cadence and reliability. Flight 12 is slated to lift off no earlier than May 21, at 5:30 pm CDT on Pad 2 out of Starbase, Texas.



STAKEOUT STREAM:



LAUNCH STREAM:



Pad 2, Booster 19, and Ship 39, the Intro of Block 3, and Raptor 3

Flight 12 will introduce many new components to the Starship program. First off is a completely redesigned launch pad, Pad 2, which, rather than six legs and 360-degree exhaust, directs the exhaust plume through a pair of openings via a flame trench and water deflector system. The entire launch pad has been completely redesigned with a new water deluge system, tank farm, launch
mount, and tower.

For a more in-depth look at the Pad, its covered in this standalone article here: SpaceXs new Starship pad readies for first launch . Ship 39

Booster 19 is the booster for this flight and represents a clean-sheet design change compared to Block 2 boosters. There are many obvious changes, such as the new integrated hotstage ring and truss, only three grid fins, and a completely redesigned aft section.

SpaceX has taken lessons learned over the last several years to make changes that booster engineers have wanted for a while. Booster 19s Raptor 3 Engines (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)

For a more in-depth look at the booster, its covered in this standalone article here: Super Heavy Block 3 the Booster of the Future

Next up is Ship 39, which is also a block 3 design and a partially clean-sheet design for many of the systems aboard. A few things are the relocation of the common and aft domes to accommodate more propellant, the addition of drogue docking ports, and a complete overhaul of the Reaction Control System (RCS). This newly designed ship is set to kick off Starlink missions, orbital refueling, and eventually landing humans back on the Moon.

For a more in-depth look at the ship, its covered in this standalone article here: Flight 12 readies for the debut SpaceXs next Ship evolution Ship 39 rolling out for Flight (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)

Lastly, this flight introduces Raptor 3, which is a major upgrade over
Raptor 2. Raptor 3 is another leap forward for SpaceX to make an engine reliable enough for it to act like an aircraft turbofan engine, which can be turned on at a moments notice and is incredibly reliable. To do this, engineers eliminated flanges around the turbopumps and simplified the overall design to make the engine easier to manufacture.

Other changes include the use of a brand-new acoustic igniter system. These igniters dont have any moving parts or generate a spark, unlike the igniter
on an internal combustion engine or the torch igniters used on Raptor 2.

Acoustic igniters rely on the interaction between a supersonic jet flow issuing from a nozzle and a resonance tube placed closely downstream, producing a dramatic increase in temperature in the resonance tube. This increase in temperature will cause the gases to ignite, thus creating an igniter. Using this type of ignition eliminates the electrical systems required for a spark ignition system and can simplify the ignition process. Validation testing on a Raptor 3 performing a Starship V3 ascent burn. Multiple versions of this test will cover the different conditions seen by Starships three inner engines during its initial climb to space pic.twitter.com/Rrd4rEuGqt

SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 3, 2025



With the igniters just using the propellant, SpaceX also switched the
spin-up gases on Raptor 3; in the past, Raptor used Helium or Nitrogen. However, with Raptor 3, SpaceX has switched to using gaseous Oxygen and Methane to start their respective turbopumps.

Other improvements for Raptor 3 include higher internal chamber pressure, increased thrust, and reduced weight. The higher thrust results from
increased chamber pressure. Raptor 3 sea level engines will start off at 250 tons (551,000 lbf) of thrust, with a final goal of hitting 280 tons (617,000 lbf), and Raptor 3 Vacuum engines are currently at 275 tons (606,000 lbf).

The weight was also reduced, with the engine itself going from 1,630 kg (3,593 lbs) to 1,525 kg (3,362 lbs). However, the real weight savings are on the vehicle side, with each engine having lost about 2,000 lbs (907 kg) of mass due to the deletion of most of the engine shielding on the aft of the booster. Raptor 3 on Booster 19 (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)

This engine, with all its changes, is slated to be the programs future until SpaceX comes up with something better. This should be the engine that lands humans back on the moon, and maybe even on Mars.

In preparation for this flight, SpaceX has done a ton of testing not only on the new launch pad but also on the vehicles themselves and on many test
tanks. B18.1, which is the booster aft test article, completed 16 cryo tests. S39.1 The ship aft test article has completed 13 cryo proof tests so far. B18.3 The booster forward and landing tank attach hardware test tank has also completed 16 cryo proof tests so far as well.

Many of these tests used actuators, crush caps, and other forms of testing hardware to gather data to help make Block 3 a better vehicle overall. As for the vehicles themselves, Ship 39 has completed three cryo-proof tests, a few tanking tests with igniter tests, a spin prime, and a full-duration 52-second six-engine static fire. Some of the ship testing included chopstick sim testing and flap stress testing at Masseys with the new truss structure. Left to Right: B18.1, Booster Landing Test Tank, Ship 40, S39.1, B18.3 (Credit: Gage (Rough Riders Show) for NSF)

Then, Booster 19 has completed four cryo-proof tests, three tanking tests (two with igniter testing), two spin primes, one 10-engine and one 33-engine static fire, both static fires aborted due to ground-side issues, a 15-second 33-engine static fire, and, lastly, a booster Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) in which SpaceX fully filled the booster with Liquid Methane (LCH4) and Liquid Oxygen (LOX).

The entire stack has also aimed to complete a full WDR the day before launch on Wednesday, but appeared to halt operations mid-load. Clearly, SpaceX is taking these design changes seriously and ensuring many aspects are tested to verify them.

Timeline

With a brand-new launch pad and rocket, SpaceX also changed the entire prelaunch timeline and several elements of the launch timeline. First off,
the propellant load poll now occurs at T-00:50:00, which is much later in the count than in Flight 11, which was at T-1:15:00. This is because SpaceX has significantly reduced the propellant loading times for Starship.

On Flight 11, the Ship propellant load would start around T-00:53:00, and Booster would start around T-00:41:15. On Flight 12, the Ship is set to start at T-00:38:53, with Booster set to start at T-00:35:00. This reduction in fueling time has to do with the new design of Pad 2s tank farm. In the past, SpaceX only had one pump for both Ship propellants; now teams have four for each. Flight 12 Prelaunch Timeline (Credit: SpaceX)

Another change is that, instead of LOX and LCH4 loads starting around the same time for the ship or booster, they now start in a staggered manner. Ship LOX load starts, then Booster LOX load, then Booster LCH4 load, and the last part to load is Ship LCH4. Then, during propellant load, Raptor 3 chilldown starts around T-00:21:30, which is a little earlier in the count than in Flight 11.

Propellant load for the entire stack ends at T-00:02:10, which makes it only 36 minutes and 43 seconds long, which is only slightly slower than Falcon 9. In comparison, Flight 11s propellant load took 50 minutes and 10 seconds.

Then, as the count nears T-0, at T-17 seconds, the flame diverters inside
the new flame trench are activated, which include both buckets and the ridge. Then, much closer to liftoff, the top-deck deluge plate would activate to reach full power once the rocket clears the launch mount.

In flight, a few things change as well: the moment of peak aerodynamic
stress on the rocket (MAX-Q) occurs at T+45 seconds, compared to T+00:01:02 for Flight 11. Thats a full 17 seconds earlier, which just goes to show the increase in thrust and thrust-to-weight ratio Block 3 has over Block 2.

With MAX-Q so much sooner, Most Engines Cutoff (MECO) and Hotstaging occur earlier in the timeline, as it will take less time for the booster to get the ship to the desired velocity and altitude.

An event removed from the timeline is hot-stage jettison, as the Block 3 booster now has the integrated hot stage and truss as part of the forward dome. Flight 12 Launch Timeline (Credit: SpaceX)

Next will be the Superheavy landing burn, which is a bit later in the timeline than on Flight 11. This is due to the new booster glide-back
profile, which will cause the booster to glide back at a higher angle of attack.

After Booster completes the landing, the Ship engine cutoff will occur
around T+00:08:11. This is 47 seconds faster than Flight 11. This just goes
to show once again the increase in thrust that Raptor 3 brings to Block 3.

Between T+00:17:37 and T+00:27:15, the payload will be deployed, and at around T+00:38:37, the Raptor relight demo with Raptor 3 will take place for the first time. Assuming Starship makes it through reentry, which starts around T+00:47:47, Ship 39 will complete a landing burn around T+01:05:06. This landing will start with three engines, then downselect to two, before finishing on a single engine.

The mission as a whole is expected to be completed at around T+01:05:26,
when Ship 39 splashes down in the Indian Ocean. Final descent and splashdown of Starship on Flight 11, captured by the SpaceX recovery team in the Indian Ocean pic.twitter.com/TzvFnf8Z6d

SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 14, 2025



Mission Objectives

There is a lot riding on the success of Flight 12: the full test of the
newly built launch pad and the introduction of three major components for the flight vehicles. These are the Block 3 Booster, Ship, and Raptor 3. While testing all of these new pieces, SpaceX will also test a few other things on this flight.

Since this is a brand-new clean-sheet design booster, SpaceX will not
attempt a catch with Booster 19 but will instead attempt a splashdown in the Gulf. This will help validate the new design, and if any issues arise, the booster wont damage the launch pad should the landing burn fail. There is a chance Booster 20 is caught on Flight 13, but it depends on how well Booster 19 performs. Super Heavy hover pic.twitter.com/VLczlgdeH8

SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 15, 2025



For the Ship, SpaceX will perform a payload deployment demo and a Raptor relight demo. The payload will once again be a set of dummy satellites, but instead of eight, SpaceX has loaded 20 for this mission, and added two modified Starlinks as well, for a total of 22 satellites. The final two to be deployed will be modified to test planned Starlink Version 3 hardware and attempt to scan Ship 39s heat shield before reentry.

This is an attempt by SpaceX to photograph the ships heat shield before reentry to verify that its still intact. This kind of imagery will be vital
to ensure that when a ship reenters land, it doesnt break up and cause
damage. Ship 39 painted Heat Shield Tiles (Credit: Colleen Liedtke for NSF)

To aid in the modified Starlinks and to perform an experiment, several tiles have been painted grey and white to help the imaging software see where on
the ship it is looking and to determine whether it can detect fake missing tiles. Other experiments for the heat shield include removing a single tile behind one of the forward flaps to test aerodynamic loads on the adjacent tiles when one is missing.

And lastly, several tiles and six full patches have been glued to the
leeward side of the ship to test a newer adhesive.

As for final objectives, Ship 39 will perform experimental maneuvers tested during previous flight tests to simulate a ship-catch trajectory. Like intentionally stressing the aft flaps, and performing the dynamic banking maneuver as seen on Flight 11.

Trajectory

In keeping with the theme of everything changing this flight, the initial trajectory out of Starbase has also changed. Now, instead of flying due east, which took Starship just south of Florida, the Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos Islands, and just north of Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and the Leeward Islands. Comparison of New Flight Corridor vs Previous Flights

The new trajectory will have Starship head slightly south. This will take
the ship and thread it between Cuba and Jamaica, then south of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, and finally between St Vincent and Grenada in the Leeward Islands. There are a few reasons for this change in trajectory: first off, it gets out of the way of several major airline routes to and from the United States and the northern Caribbean Sea.

And it also allows SpaceX to practice the trajectory required for Starlink flights out of Starbase in the future. The landing trajectory is relatively the same location, except for a slight hook at the end of the zone, where the ship will perform the dynamic banking maneuver before landing in the Indian Ocean. Booster 15-2 and Ship 38 Liftoff for Flight 11 During the Same Window (Credit: Jack Beyer for NSF)

Launch Windows

Currently, Starship Flight 12 is targeting no earlier than Thursday, May 21, at 5:30 pm CDT for lift off of Booster 19 and Ship 39, with the window itself being one hour and 30 minutes long. SpaceX also has a backup window on May 22 at the same time. However, should there be further delays or scrubs, SpaceX will have to wait until Tuesday, May 26, as May 23, 24, and 25 fall on Memorial Day weekend, and the beach cannot be closed on those days.

Now the road closure time has also changed; in the past, for late-afternoon flights, SpaceX would close the road around noon CDT. However, for this flight, closures begin at 6 am and continue until 10 pm CDT. The end of that closure assumes that the pad and launch site are safe for the public to
return to at that time.

No matter when Flight 12 does launch, it will be a spectacle. This has been
a flight years in the making for SpaceX and for spaceflight as a whole. A successful launch on Flight 12 paves the way for SpaceX to start catching Block 3 boosters and even ships sooner rather than later.

Featured Image: Ship 39 and Booster 19 stacked on Pad 2 (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)







The post Starship Flight 12: Welcome to the Show Block 3 and Pad 2 appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/05/starship-flight-12-block-3-pad-2/


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