SpaceX Announces Date for Twelfth Launch of Starship (Flight 12): Here Are the Updates
Just yesterday, we reported the completion of the Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) of the SpaceX Starship rocket. Within a few hours, Elon Musk's company announced, as expected (not without some delays), that the twelfth launch of the fully reusable heavy-lift vehicle is scheduled no earlier than May 20 at 0:30 (Italian time). This is one of the most anticipated tests as it marks the first attempt with third-generation hardware.
Starship's twelfth flight test will debut the next generation Starship and Super Heavy vehicles, powered by the next evolution of the Raptor engine and launching from a newly designed pad at Starbase. The launch is targeted as early as Tuesday, May 19 → SpaceX
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The twelfth flight test (Flight 12) of Starship is preparing to inaugurate a new phase in the development of SpaceX's launch system. The launch will take place for the first time from Pad 2 of Starbase, the construction and testing area for the new rocket. As we have previously reported, this mission will use Super Heavy Booster 19 (first stage) and Ship 39 (second stage). These are profoundly redesigned versions of the system that see the use of Raptor 3 engines for the first time.
As explained by SpaceX, each component of the architecture has been reviewed to move closer to the goal of complete and rapid reusability, seeking to gather as much information as possible from previous tests (which have seen highs and lows). Super Heavy Booster 19 will play a central role in the test. Its mission will be to demonstrate a complete sequence of operations: launch, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn, and landing burn towards a landing site off the coast in the Gulf of Mexico. The failure to recover with Mechazilla is a conservative strategy, as much success has been gained in the past, but now it involves next-generation hardware and SpaceX does not want to risk damaging the pad and launch tower. If all goes as planned, a future Super Heavy unit will be recovered during Flight 13.
Super Heavy Booster 19 will utilize three directional fins instead of four (from the second generation). Each fin is now 50% larger and more robust. Due to a different management of the hot-staging phase, the fins are positioned lower and part of the hardware is inside the tanks to avoid damage generated by the heat from the upper stage Raptor engines. The first-stage propellant transfer system has been revised. As previously noted, its size is similar to that of the first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket and will allow for proper fueling of all 33 atmospheric Raptor 3 engines. The side covering of the engines has been removed while a new shielding has been implemented to manage the heat of reentry and prevent damage.
Starship and Second Stage Ship 39
The second stage Starship, Ship 39, will be engaged in a series of complex objectives, both during flight and reentry. Among the most significant will be the release of 22 mockups of third-generation Starlink satellites, designed to replicate the sizes of new-generation satellites. For the first time, the last two mockups released will have a specific task: to scan the thermal shield of Starship and transmit images to the mission control center, testing new techniques for analyzing tile conditions for future reentries to the launch site (the first is not expected before Flight 14). The PEZ Dispenser is now faster in payload release, improving unit management.
Regarding the thermal shield, some tiles have been painted white to simulate missing elements and serve as visual targets, while one tile has been intentionally removed to measure how aerodynamic loads change on adjacent tiles during reentry. The thermal shield is one of the most delicate and problematic elements since the philosophy is different from that of the Space Shuttle, hypothetically allowing for greater durability and lower costs.
In the third version, fluid and electrical systems have changed while the engines have less coverage due to their simplified design. The flaps were previously driven by two actuators, now there is a single actuator with three motors, reducing mass and increasing redundancy. Looking ahead to future missions, a propellant transfer system from Ship to Ship has already been integrated, although testing will likely occur after Flight 14.
Flight 12 will also include an in-orbit relight of an atmospheric Raptor 3 engine, a key step for future operational missions. There will then be a series of experimental maneuvers already tested in previous flights: a controlled stress of the rear flaps to verify their structural limits, and a dynamic banking maneuver that simulates the trajectory expected for future reentries towards Starbase (when the flights will be orbital and not suborbital). Additionally, during the terminal phase of splashdown in the Indian Ocean, only one engine will be employed. The avionics have been revised to be more powerful while power management with batteries and inverters has been optimized. The thrust of a single atmospheric Raptor 3 engine is 250 tf while that of a Raptor 3 Vacuum (RVac) is 275 tf.
This twelfth mission thus represents a decisive test for the new architecture of the Starship rocket. Every element, from the engine to the thermal shield, from reentry dynamics to landing procedures, is designed to bring SpaceX closer to the vision of a fully reusable space transportation system that will reduce the cost of access to orbit, representing a revolution (if it keeps its promises). A necessary step for commercial, scientific, and, one day, interplanetary missions. Moreover, it should not be forgotten that Starship HLS could be the first lunar lander to bring humans back to the Moon after the end of the Apollo program with the Artemis IV mission, expected in 2028.