STARBASE, TEXAS / Content Syndication Services / — SpaceX is preparing to fly the first Starship Version 3 vehicle as soon as May 19, marking the 12th integrated flight test of the fully reusable launch system and the debut of its most extensive redesign to date. The vehicle, made up of the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage, remains the largest and most powerful rocket system under development, with both stages revised after 11 earlier test flights.
The new Starship V3 stands about 5 feet taller than earlier builds and introduces the next generation of SpaceX’s methane-fueled Raptor engine. The Super Heavy booster keeps its 33-engine configuration, but the upgraded engines raise total liftoff thrust to more than 18 million pounds. SpaceX has also shifted the launch to a newly designed pad at Starbase, adding ground-system changes intended to support the redesigned vehicle.
The most visible booster change is the grid-fin layout. Super Heavy V3 uses three grid fins instead of four, with each fin about 50% larger than the earlier design. The fins have been repositioned lower on the booster to reduce exposure to heat during hot staging, the phase in which the Starship upper stage lights its engines while still attached to Super Heavy.
Booster redesign focuses on reuse
SpaceX also integrated the hot-stage structure into the top of the Super Heavy booster. Earlier versions used a separate interstage element that was discarded during flight. The V3 arrangement keeps the structure with the booster and exposes the booster’s forward tank dome to upper-stage engine ignition, protected by internal pressure and shielding. The company also redesigned the booster’s fuel transfer tube to support simultaneous startup of all 33 engines.
The Starship upper stage has received a clean-sheet propulsion redesign, including new plumbing, wiring and cryogenic fuel-handling systems. The vehicle has larger propellant tank volume, an improved reaction-control system for in-flight steering and reduced enclosed spaces in the aft section where leaked propellant could collect. SpaceX also added four docking-related propellant feed connections to support future ship-to-ship fuel transfer demonstrations in orbit.
Flight test adds Starlink simulators
The planned test flight will follow a profile similar to recent Starship missions, with the vehicle flying east from South Texas. Starship is scheduled to deploy 22 Starlink V2 mass simulators during the flight, rather than operational satellites. Two of the simulators are expected to collect imagery of the ship’s heat shield, adding data on tile performance during reentry. A single Raptor engine relight in space is also part of the planned test sequence.
NASA is directly tied to Starship’s development through its Human Landing System program, which selected a Starship-derived lunar lander for Artemis missions. Orbital propellant transfer, improved cryogenic storage and repeated engine performance are among the capabilities needed for that NASA role. For the May 19 test, Super Heavy is planned to make a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, while Starship is planned to descend to an offshore landing zone after reentry.