Starship new generation ready for flight: Raptor 3 engines and Starlink mockups

SpaceX has announced that the 12th test flight of the Starship system will take place on the night of May 22. The launch window opens at 03:30 Tashkent time and will last for one and a half hours. The company has provided a special link to watch the flight live. Currently, weather forecasts predict a 55 percent chance of favorable conditions for the flight. This is reported by Ixbt.com .

This will be the first flight of the completely updated Starship and Super Heavy systems with modernized Raptor 3 engines from the new launch pad at Starbase. The main goal of the mission is to test the system's new reusable design changes in real flight conditions. The Super Heavy booster will land in the Gulf of Mexico, but this time, due to significant structural changes, it is not planned to be caught by the mechanical "chopsticks" on the tower.

The Starship upper stage will carry 20 Starlink V3 satellite simulators and two special test satellites into orbit. These devices are expected to film the ship's heat shield during flight. SpaceX specialists have painted some of the heat shield tiles white and even intentionally removed one tile to study loads if the hull is damaged.

Also, extreme maneuvers are planned in space to restart the Raptor engine and test the ship's structural limits. Elon Musk noted that almost every detail of the Starship V3 version differs from the V2 model used in previous tests. This is expected to mark a new era for the largest rocket in human history.