Starship Flight 12 Launch Thread
27d 22h ago by sh.itjust.works/u/threelonmusketeers in spacex@sh.itjust.works
First launch of a Block 3 Starship, and the first launch from Pad 2!
| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2026-05-22 23:30:00 |
|---|---|
| Scheduled for (local) | 2026-05-22 18:30 (CDT) |
| Launch Window (UTC) | 2025-05-22 22:30 to 2026-05-23 00:00 (1 hour 30 minutes) |
| Launch site | Pad 2, Starbase, Texas, USA. |
| Booster | B19 |
| Ship | S39 |
| Booster landing | Gulf of Mexico |
| Ship landing | Indian Ocean |
Webcasts
| Stream | Link |
|---|---|
| Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT_ZXZUrUcU(scrub) |
| Everyday Astronaut | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odWYDx3u8A4(scrub) |
| Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4alF1JasLo(scrub) |
| NASASpaceflight | Stakeout stream, launch stream, Stakeout stream (scrub), launch stream (scrub) |
| LabPadre | |
| The Launch Pad | Countdown stream, launch stream, Countdown stream (scrub), launch stream (scrub) |
| VideoFromSpace | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke_V1Dlw_lI(scrub) |
| International Rocket Launches | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C6WSj8lz4s(scrub) |
| SpaceX | |
| The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/@thespacedevs/videos |
Stats
Sourced from NextSpaceflight and r/SpaceX:
☑️ 1st launch of Starship version 3
☑️ 1st launch from Pad 2
☑️ 1st Starship Full Stack launch this year, 12th overall
☑️ 60th SpaceX launch this year, 679th overall
Mission Details
SpaceX website (current, archive), Starship v3 overview. Scheduled highlights:
- No booster catch, only splashdown.
- Payload deploy demonstration, including two satellites to transmit imagery of heatshield prior to reentry.
- Raptor relight.
- Ship landing burn will down-select to a single engine.
- Chopstick actuators have been changed from hydraulic to electromechanical.
Timeline
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| -0:50:00 | GO for Prop Load |
| -0:38:53 | Stage 2 LOX Load |
| -0:35:00 | Stage 1 LOX Load |
| -0:34:43 | Stage 1 LNG Load |
| -0:32:59 | Stage 2 LNG Load |
| -0:21:30 | Engine Chill |
| -0:02:50 | Stage 1 Propellant Load Complete |
| -0:02:10 | Stage 2 Propellant Load Complete |
| -0:00:30 | GO for Launch |
| -0:00:17 | Flame Deflector Activation |
| -0:00:03 | Ignition |
| 0:00:00 | Liftoff |
| 0:00:00 | Excitement Guaranteed |
| 0:00:45 | Max-Q |
| 0:02:22 | MECO |
| 0:02:24 | Stage 2 Separation |
| 0:02:30 | Booster Boostback Burn Startup |
| 0:03:30 | Booster Boostback Burn Shutdown |
| 0:06:34 | Stage 1 Landing Burn |
| 0:06:59 | Stage 1 Landing |
| 0:08:11 | SECO-1 |
| 0:17:37 | Payload Deployment Sequence Start |
| 0:27:15 | Payload Deployment Sequence End |
| 0:38:37 | SEB-2 |
| 0:47:47 | Atmospheric Entry |
| 1:02:29 | Starship Transonic |
| 1:03:08 | Starship Subsonic |
| 1:05:06 | Starship Landing Burn |
| 1:05:08 | Landing Flip |
| 1:05:17 | Starship Landing |
Link to Starship Dev thread
Nice ship landing despite everything else.
The engine out issues are giving me bad flashbacks.
Fortunately it was an R-vac and not one of the centre engines...
Wow, those Raptor 3 engines are hauling ass!
Scrub for the day.
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
| Fewer Letters | More Letters |
|---|---|
| FTS | Flight Termination System |
| MECO | Main Engine Cut-Off |
| ~ | MainEngineCutOff podcast |
| NSF | NasaSpaceFlight forum |
| ~ | National Science Foundation |
| Jargon | Definition |
|---|---|
| Raptor | Methane-fueled rocket engine under development by SpaceX |
| Starlink | SpaceX's world-wide satellite broadband constellation |
[Thread #1 for this comm, first seen 22nd May 2026, 22:35] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
Propellant loading is underway.
Hold released!
Edit: And reset back to T-40 seconds...
Holding at T-40 seconds.
More details from Elon: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2057609682865254695
The hydraulic pin holding the tower arm in place did not retract.
If that can be fixed tonight, there will be another launch attempt tomorrow at 5:30 CT.
Hold released! Go for launch!
Ship R-vac shutdown at T+09:12, sea level engines shutdown at T+09:17.
T-20 minutes. Propellant load is underway.
Single engine out in the outer ring on the booster.
Seems like the landing burn failed to start. Booster was still travelling at 1454 km/h when it reached 0 km altitude.
Still on schedule for payload deploy (T+17:37), but likely skip in-space Raptor relight.
Splashdown! And live drone video!
They've got video from the camera satellites!
Liftoff!
First two Starlink simulators deployed.
Edit: Simulators 3 and 4 deployed.
- Simulators 5 and 6 deployed.
- Payloads 7 and 8 deployed.
- 9 and 10.
- 11 and 12.
- 13 and 14.
- 15 and 16.
- 17 and 18.
- 19 and 20.
- 21 and 22. These two are the modified v2 Starlinks with cameras and lights on them.
- Payload door has closed.
Payload door has opened!
Holding at T-40 seconds.
Edit: Waiting for fuel pushback.
One R-vac engine out on ship. The centre engines (which can gimbal) are still looking good.
MECO and stage separation!
Starting to see plasma now.
Ship FTS has safed. Awaiting callout for status of trajectory insertion.
Ship aft flaps are actuating. Ship attitude looks stable.
Next up, atmospheric entry around T+47 minutes.
Landing burn!
Incomplete boostback burn on booster.
Ship has passed through peak heating. Approaching peak pressure.
T-0 has been pushed to 18:30 local, 23:30 UTC.
NSF launch stream is live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBu6JFjt0tk
T-0 has been pushed to 18:00 local, 23:00 UTC.