The SpaceX Starship rocket has been assembled, but the twelfth launch may be postponed

In recent days, we reported how the twelfth launch (Flight 12) of SpaceX's Starship rocket could take place on May 13, subsequently rescheduled for no earlier than May 16.

Super Heavy Booster 19 and Ship 39 have conducted a series of tests over the past few weeks, finally arriving at the moment of launch. The most recent test was a static fire of Super Heavy Booster 19 that took place about three days ago, where the 33 Raptor 3 engines unleashed full power for several seconds.

Full duration and full thrust 33-engine static fire with Super Heavy V3

SpaceX has stated that this test was performed successfully. This allowed Elon Musk's company to continue operations in preparation for Flight 12. After the static fire at Pad 2 of Starbase, Ship 39 was taken to the launch area and assembled with the first stage in anticipation of a wet dress rehearsal (WDR) that was supposed to take place in the past hours, before Sunday.

As reported, after the start of operations, the WDR procedure was halted prematurely just before the loading of propellants (liquid methane and liquid oxygen at cryogenic temperatures). It should be noted that the WDR aims to simulate all launch procedures, reaching a few seconds before engine ignition to determine if the hardware is ready for launch day. Currently, the causes that led to the WDR being halted are unknown, but this setback could postpone the Starship launch by a few days.

Even if SpaceX engineers and technicians solve the WDR issue, the company would not be able to conduct further tests today because Mother’s Day is one of those days noted in an agreement with the FAA where the beaches in the Starbase/Boca Chica area cannot be closed. During these tests, traffic closures and movement restrictions are expected for safety reasons.

Testing could therefore resume on Monday if the source of the problem is found. For this reason, a Starship launch scheduled for Saturday (Italian time) would be quite complicated. SpaceX has not yet officially announced when it plans to launch the vehicle for the twelfth time, and launch windows extend into the following days. The situation is therefore rapidly changing, and an update is expected in the coming days.

We remind you that at this stage, Starship is still a prototype rocket. Super Heavy Booster 19 and Ship 39 are the first units of the third generation with several technical innovations and are the first tests for Pad 2. The combination of all these variables can lead to issues that need to be resolved, thus causing delays in launch procedures. We can only wait for further news and official indications from SpaceX.