According to the original schedule of Starship’s 12th flight test (IFT-12), the launch should have been carried out today.
However, SpaceX first pushed it to tomorrow (Wednesday), and in a subsequent announcement on X, the Flight 12 Starship launch is now scheduled for Thursday, May 21.
The delay was first thought to be linked to Elon Musk’s diplomatic visit to China with President Trump. But it appears to be due to technical reasons connected to the preparations and testing of all Starship and its ground systems.
But it’s also a fact that Elon Musk, as the founder and CEO of SpaceX, likes to be present at major Starship launch events. Flight 12 Starship is the first V3 generation of the upper-stage spacecraft and the Super Heavy rocket booster.
Preparations for the 12th flight test of the Starship are in full swing at SpaceX’s Starbase launch site in Texas. Musk’s space launch company is moving ahead fast with the next steps to make the Flight 12 Starship launch-ready.
Earlier today, SpaceX first moved the Starship 39 spacecraft and the Booster 19 rocket to Starbase. Within a few hours, SpaceX mounted Booster 19 on the upgraded Pad 2 orbital launch mount (OLM) and stacked Ship 39 on it.
Interestingly, as shown in the picture above, a squad of Tesla Cybertruck electric pickup trucks is escorting the upper stage Ship 39 from the Starbase production area to the launch site.
SpaceX acquired a large fleet of Cybertrucks from Tesla (TSLA). Helping with launch-site operations is one of the best use cases for a Tesla Cybertruck.
Heavy-duty towing, like pulling Raptor engines and providing electric power for small tasks on site, are a few uses of the Cybertruck at such a demanding manufacturing and engineering site.
Completion of Major Pre-Flight Tests
SpaceX has already performed major pre-launch tests on both stages of the Flight 12 Starship.
Super Heavy Booster 19 went through a 33-engine full-duration, full-thrust static fire test at Starbase last week. This was the 2nd static fire test conducted on Booster 19 with all 33 engines installed.
SpaceX performed the first 33-engine static fire test on Flight 12 Booster 19 in April. A 10-engine static fire test was conducted on Booster 19 in March, but it was stopped abruptly. So, this first V3 Super Heavy rocket went through a static fire test every month for the last three months (including May).
Ship 39 also went through a 6-engine static fire test in April. Earlier in March, SpaceX conducted three consecutive cryogenic pressure-proof tests on the Flight 12 upper stage, aka Starship 39.
Flight 12 Live Streams and Live Updates
A Starship Flight 12 live webcast will be officially streamed by SpaceX on its official social media account on X (formerly Twitter). Other live streams will be available on Everyday Astronaut and NasaSpaceFlight.com’s YouTube channels as well.
Like always, we will create a dedicated page where you can watch all the live-streams and get live text updates from us as the events unfold on the Flight 12 timeline.
So, stay tuned on Thursday, 21st May, 6:30 PM ET / 5:30 PM CT.
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Related SpaceX / Starship News
- SpaceX delays Flight 12 to Thursday, stacks the Starship for launch preparation
- SpaceX announces Starship’s Flight 12 launch date
- Flight 12 Starship Booster 19 performs a full-duration 33-engine static fire test ahead of launch
- SpaceX conducts successful static fire tests on Starship 39 and Booster 19, Flight 12 happening in a few weeks
- Starship Flight 12: Booster 19’s 10-engine static fire ends abruptly, SpaceX prepares for a 33-engine static fire test
- Starship Flight 12: V3 Booster 19 shows better propellant load speeds, static fire next with only 10 Raptor 3 engines
