SpaceX is edging toward the 12th flight test of its mighty Starship rocket after the company rolled out the new Super Heavy booster for testing.
Appearing at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in southern Texas on Thursday, Booster 18 is the third version of the rocket’s main stage, with the 12th test set to see it fly for the very first time.
SpaceX shared some images of the new booster at Starbase as engineers prepared to put it through its paces with a number of ground-based tests prior to launch.
The third version of the Super Heavy has a greater propellant capacity than its predecessor, enabling it to carry heavier payloads to orbit. It’ll also be about five feet taller (1.5 meters) and fitted with new docking adapters for in-orbit fuel transfer, a procedure that’s vital for Starship flights to the moon and beyond.
When SpaceX has completed ground testing for the Super Heavy booster, the team will need to carry out similar preparations for the upper-stage Ship spacecraft.
SpaceX also has to finish off the construction of Pad 2, which will be used for the 12th Starship launch.
Once all of the pieces are in place, SpaceX will share a target launch date for the rocket, which is the most powerful ever built.
The general feeling is that the Starship will head skyward in the early part of 2026.
Next year is set to be the most crucial yet for the Starship, which first flew in 2023. SpaceX is under pressure to hit a number of key milestones so that it can ready the rocket for the highly anticipated Artemis III mission that will put NASA astronauts on the moon for the first time in more than five decades.
NASA is targeting the Artemis III mission for 2027, though a recent report suggested that SpaceX’s Starship won’t be ready until 2028 at the earliest.
