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Space
Space
Science
Mike Wall

SpaceX fires up next-gen 'Version 3' Starship ahead of landmark May test flight (photos)

X SpaceX Starship Earth NASA
SpaceX conducts a full-duration static fire test with the upper stage of the Starship V3 vehicle that will conduct the Flight 12 test. SpaceX posted this image on X on April 14, 2026.

The new, juiced-up version of SpaceX's Starship megarocket just cleared a big hurdle on the path to its first-ever launch.

That liftoff, targeted for early or mid-May, will be the 12th overall for Starship but the first for the vehicle's "Version 3," which is bigger and more powerful than its predecessors.

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