SpaceX Delays First Starship V3 Launch, Aims for Friday Evening

SpaceX scrubbed the first launch attempt of its third-generation Starship rocket system on Thursday after the countdown reached the final seconds. m. EDT on Friday, May 22. The scrub occurred at the Starbase facility in South Texas. Starship and its Super Heavy booster were fully fueled, and the countdown had dipped below T-40 seconds when issues with rocket and launchpad systems prompted multiple holds.

Elon Musk posted on X that the hydraulic pin holding the launch tower arm in place did not retract. m. local time if the issue can be fixed overnight. The mission, designated Starship Flight 12, marks the first flight of the upgraded V3 hardware since the previous launch in October 2025.

Engineers have made changes to the Raptor engines, removed one grid fin from the booster, and altered the upper-stage design to reduce propellant leaks.

This flight will not attempt a booster catch or place Starship into orbit. Both stages are scheduled to perform controlled splashdowns, with the booster landing in the Gulf of America and Starship in the Indian Ocean. Starship is expected to release 22 Starlink simulators.

Two of the payloads will conduct imaging experiments on the heat shield, including tests with deliberately painted and removed tiles. 75 trillion and $2 trillion. Starlink generated $11 billion in revenue last year, according to the IPO filing. SpaceX has previously flown dummy versions of its next-generation satellites on Starship but has not yet deployed operational payloads with the new vehicle.