WASHINGTON — SpaceX has set a date for the long-delayed first launch of its next-generation Starship vehicle, which is critical to the company’s ambitions as well as NASA’s lunar plans.
SpaceX announced May 12 that it is planning a launch of the first Starship version 3 vehicle as soon as May 19 from its Starbase facility in South Texas. Liftoff is planned for 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
The announcement came a day after SpaceX performed a wet dress rehearsal, fueling the Starship upper stage and Super Heavy booster on the pad. The company appeared to cut short a similar fueling test two days earlier.
The launch will be the first flight of version 3 of Starship, with upgrades to both stages to improve vehicle performance, such as upgraded Raptor engines. It will also use a new launch pad at Starbase.
“The flight test’s primary goal will be to demonstrate each of these new pieces in the flight environment for the first time, with each element of the Starship architecture featuring significant redesigns to enable full and rapid reuse that incorporate learnings from years of development and test,” the company stated.
