IFT-12 NET Confirmed May 21 at 6:30 PM EDT — Starship V3 Ready for Pad 2 Debut Launch

SpaceX confirmed the Net Earliest Timing (NET) for Starship Integrated Flight Test 12 (IFT-12) as May 21, 2026 at 6:30 PM EDT (22:30 UTC) from Orbital Launch Pad 2 (OLP-2) at Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas. On May 20, SpaceX launch teams completed final pre-launch preparations: avionics sign-off, propellant loading timeline review, structural integrity checks, and Terminal Countdown Demonstration. Eastern Range (FAA and Space Force) confirmed all safety clearances with no holds outstanding. Starbase weather teams issued a favorable forecast for the May 21 primary window. The backup window extends through May 22. This will be the first launch from OLP-2 and the first flight of Starship V3 (Block 3) — a major clean-sheet redesign with Booster 19 carrying 33 Raptor 3 engines and Ship 39 featuring the first-ever pressurized docking port and propellant-transfer interface hardware required by NASA for Artemis III Human Landing System qualification. IFT-12 is also the first Starship flight in approximately seven months, resuming after the previous IFT-11 cadence. Booster 19 will attempt a Gulf of Mexico water splashdown (no chopstick tower catch on this debut flight); Ship 39 will fly a suborbital arc to Indian Ocean splashdown off western Australia. The payload manifest includes 20 Starlink V3 simulator units and two external cameras to photograph the vehicle during flight. IFT-12's docking port hardware test is a NASA-mandated precursor milestone on the path to Artemis IV crewed lunar landing (targeted 2028), the first mission to actually attempt ship-to-ship orbital propellant transfer with Starship HLS. Artemis II crew continues post-flight physiological reconditioning at Johnson Space Center on Day 40 post-splashdown.