The test flight comes at a pivotal time for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, as the company strives to go public this year and show it is ready for NASA’s 2027 launch. Artemis III assignment
By Adam Kovac edited by Claire Cameron
SpaceX/X
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The latest version of SpaceX’s Starship megarocket has just completed its launch rehearsal, a key test ahead of a planned liftoff that could happen as soon as mid-May.
The launch vehicle, consisting of the Super Heavy Version 3 (V3) booster and SpaceX’s Starship, is approximately 124 meters tall and is designed to carry up to 150 meters of cargo into space in its fully reusable configuration. On Monday, SpaceX successfully filled the rocket with more than 5,000 tons of propellant, the company announced in a social media post.
The rehearsal heralds Starship’s next test flight, its 12th, which will mark the first time the latest version of the vehicle will be put through its paces. The launch could happen as early as the middle of this month.
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SpaceX has a lot to play for in this test: although the two most recent Starship flights were successmany of the vehicle’s previous tests resulted in fiery explosions, and the rocket development fell behind schedule calendar. The company claims initial public offering (IPO) adds to pressure; SpaceX has pitched Starship as a way to quickly expand its Starlink satellite internet megaconstellation, which is a major profit driver for the company. And SpaceX is doubling its efforts to launch and operate artificial intelligence data centers in orbit.
Like all previous test flights, the upcoming demonstration will not see the spacecraft attempt to enter low Earth orbit, a crucial capability that SpaceX still needs to prove ahead of NASA’s 2027 plan. Artemis III mission in low Earth orbit, which will be followed by the Artemis IV mission to the moon. Artemis III itself a demonstration mission, aims to show that SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System or Blue Origin’s Blue Moon rocket, or both, can dock with an Orion crew capsule in orbit around the moon. Ultimately, the space agency hopes to use Starship’s landing vehicle or Blue Origin as a ferry to take astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon as early as 2028. But some experts wonder if SpaceX’s megarocket will be ready on time.
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