Having a little fun during the end-of-year holidays is not bad at all, especially if the past year has been super busy and tough. Elon Musk’s SpaceX employees shared a similar sentiment as they celebrated a Christmas Parade at Starbase, Texas, on Friday.
Legendary Christmas characters were put on rock transport vehicles and paraded through the Starbase launch site.
Even more interesting was a large dinosaur statue holding the Super Heavy rocket (dummy), depicting the Mechazilla launch and catch tower and its Chopstick arms. SpaceX has successfully caught the Super Heavy booster on its way back multiple times since last year.
SpaceX redesigned the Mechazilla Chopsticks this year. This redesign was aimed at catching the upper-stage Starship spacecraft on landing, but this objective was not achieved in 2025, as Elon Musk predicted last year.
Starship Flight 12 Preparations at Starbase, Texas
SpaceX is targeting the first quarter of 2026 for the Flight 12 Starship launch and landing test. The time-consuming factors are not just the preparation of the upper and lower stages of Block 3 Starship, but also the related ground systems and infrastructure.
The Starbase team plans to have the next Super Heavy booster stacked in December, which puts it on pace with the test schedule planned for the first Starship V3 vehicle and associated ground systems. Starship’s twelfth flight test remains targeted for the first quarter of 2026.
SpaceX announced via X.
With the conclusion of Starship’s 11th flight test, the 2nd generation of Starship prototypes came to an end. SpaceX is now going to use the 3rd-generation of Starship prototypes for Flight 12 and the next set of tests.
This new generation is named Starship Block 3. This next-gen Starship is taller and wider compared to the previous version. Because of the differences in dimensions, SpaceX had to redesign other launch equipment as well, like the static fire test stands and the launch mounts (OLMs), etc.
SpaceX is building the 2nd OLM at Starbase for future launches, named Pad 2. Since there is no need for the legacy OLM anymore, SpaceX has demolished Pad 1, which was used for the previous Starship launches.
Following the demolition of Pad 1, SpaceX is reconstructing this OLM that is compatible with the Block 3 Starship Super Heavy mounting. The design and structure of the new OLMs are also significantly different to bear the thrust of Raptore 3 engines and disperse heat even more efficiently compared to the previous design.
SpaceX is currently building the Flight 12 upper stage Starship codenamed Ship 39. The lower stage Super Heavy Booster 18 was the intended Super Heavy V3 (Block 3) rocket booster for Flight 12.
However, Booster 18 went through a massive rupture during a cryogenic pressure-proof test at Starbase last month. Later on, Booster 18 was destroyed as it wasn’t useful anymore. SpaceX issued an official statement on X regarding the Booster 18 anomaly:
Booster 18 suffered an anomaly during gas system pressure testing that we were conducting in advance of structural proof testing. No propellant was on the vehicle, and engines were not yet installed. The teams need time to investigate before we are confident of the cause. No one was injured as we maintain a safe distance for personnel during this type of testing.
Block 3 Super Heavy rocket boosters for future Starships also have two quick-disconnect (QD) arms. SpaceX has improvised to have one QD arm each for methane and oxygen. These two propellants will be filled separately now through separate lines and into separate tanks.
The newly developed Booster 18.1 has been constantly getting tested for the gas pressure system at Starbase, Texas. SpaceX has performed 12 cryogenic pressure-proof tests on Booster 18.1 till now (see video below, slide to the 10-minute mark).
Ship 39 has been in the Mega Bay 2 at Starbase, Texas, as the staff has been constantly working on the upper stage Flight 12 Starship.
Earlier this month, SpaceX shared a video of a Raptor 3 ascent burn test. SpaceX performed multiple tests on this Raptor 3 engine at its rocket test site in McGregor, Texas.
According to SpaceX, these tests simulate different conditions that the three inner engines of the upper-stage Starship experience during the initial climb to space.
Elon Musk responded to this video. He said:
The most advanced rocket engine ever made by far.
Raptor 3 and subsequent versions will make life multiplanetary and progress civilization towards Kardashev II.
Stay tuned for future updates on Starship and SpaceX, Follow us on:
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Related SpaceX Starship News
- Watch the SpaceX Christmas Parade at Starbase as Starship Flight 12 preparations continue
- SpaceX shares stunning videos of Flight 11 Starship and Booster 15 landings
- Starship Flight 11: Read live updates, watch live-stream recordings of the launch
- Starship Flight 11: Here’s how to watch the live-streams and get live updates
- SpaceX finalizes preps for Starship Flight 11 launch on 13th October (updates, video)
- SpaceX announces Starship Flight 11 date, launch preparations update from Starbase
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