SpaceX’s gargantuan Starship rocket aced its 11th flight test earlier this month in what was the final launch for the second version of the mighty vehicle.
The team is now prepping the launch of the third version of the Starship, which will be more powerful and a little taller, as well as sporting some design changes.
SpaceX has yet to announce a target date for the 12th launch of the Starship, but the consensus appears to be that early 2026 seems most likely.
Next year will be an exciting one for the Starship endeavor as a new launch site will come into operation, paving the way for a higher launch frequency for the most powerful rocket ever built.
Up to now, all 11 Starship launches have taken place from SpaceX’s Starbase site in southern Texas, but soon, additional Starship flights will take place a thousand miles to the east at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
SpaceX is currently building the infrastructure for Starship launches from Kennedy. NASASpaceflight’s Max Evans recently shared an aerial shot (below) showing the launch mount close to completion.
“Starship’s LC-39A launch mount has been making rapid progress at its Roberts Road construction site,” Evans wrote in a social media post accompanying the image. “Based on its current status, we suspect its roll to the pad could happen very soon.”
Construction on a dedicated Starship launch facility at Kennedy started four years ago and is said to be costing SpaceX in the region of $1.8 billion.
With the first-stage Super Heavy and its 33 Raptor engines generating a record-breaking 17 million pounds of thrust at launch, the mount has to be specially designed so that it won’t disintegrate in the face of all the heat and pressure created by the rocket as it leaves the pad.
Of course, there’s lots more besides the mount that has to be ready in time for the first Starship flight from Kennedy, including the launch tower with its famous “chopstick” arms for securing the booster after it returns from space, the flame trench beneath the mount, the water deluge system, nearby roadway improvements, buildings to house the Super Heavy and upper-stage Ship, refurbishment facilities, and lots more besides.
Once ready, SpaceX is aiming to launch Starship from Kennedy around 40 times a year, which is getting on for once a week.
Launching from Florida offers SpaceX a number of advantages, including access to NASA’s infrastructure as well as over-ocean flight paths, which are key for crewed and lunar missions.
Once fully ready, the Starship will be used for crewed and cargo missions to the moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program, and could even take part in the first human flights to Mars.
