SpaceX is set to launch its newly redesigned, record-breaking Starship 3 mega-rocket in a critical test flight vital to NASA’s planned 2028 lunar landing mission.
SpaceX is preparing for the high-stakes twelfth test flight of its heavily overhauled Starship “Version 3” mega-rocket, scheduled to launch from Texas as early as May 19. The upcoming flight debuts completely redesigned upper and lower stages, powered by upgraded Raptor 3 engines and launching from a reconstructed pad.
Standing at a record-breaking 124 meters tall, the vehicle outputs an unprecedented 75,000 kilonewtons of thrust, nearly doubling the power of NASA’s current Space Launch System. Experts are stunned by the sheer scale of the engineering feat. Alistair John from the University of Sheffield noted that at peak output, “the engines generate more power than the entire electrical grid of Germany.”
The mission carries significant weight for NASA, which has tethered its Artemis program timeline to the vehicle. The space agency expects astronauts to use Starship alongside Blue Origin’s lander to return to the lunar surface by 2028.
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