IFT-12 Scrubbed at T-40s on May 21 — Hydraulic Pin Failure; Retry Window Opens 6:30 PM EDT Tonight

SpaceX scrubbed the Starship Integrated Flight Test 12 (IFT-12) on May 21, 2026 at T-00:00:40 — 40 seconds before the scheduled 6:30 PM EDT (22:30 UTC) liftoff — when a hydraulic pin holding the Ship Quick Disconnect (SQD) tower arm in place failed to retract. Elon Musk stated on X: 'The hydraulic pin holding the tower arm in place did not retract.' Secondary issues included a water diverter problem on the launch pad and an additional Quick Disconnect concern on Starship's upper stage. SpaceX teams worked overnight to diagnose and resolve all three issues. On the morning of May 22, SpaceX confirmed the vehicle remains in a healthy GO configuration for a retry, with the launch window opening at 6:30 PM EDT (22:30 UTC) — a 90-minute window running to 8:00 PM EDT (00:00 UTC May 23). The webcast begins at 5:45 PM EDT. IFT-12 will be the inaugural launch from Orbital Launch Pad 2 (OLP-2) at Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas — the maiden flight of Starship V3 (Block 3, Booster 19 + Ship 39) and the first Starship flight in approximately seven months. The scrub has no bearing on the mission configuration: Booster 19's profile calls for a Gulf of Mexico water splashdown (~T+7 min, no Mechazilla catch on this debut V3 flight); Ship 39 will fly a suborbital arc to Indian Ocean splashdown (~T+65 min), conducting a Raptor engine relight test and deploying 22 Starlink V3 simulators including two heat-shield-imaging modified satellites. Ship 39 is the first Starship to carry a pressurized docking port and propellant-transfer interface hardware — both NASA-mandated precursor systems for Artemis III Human Landing System qualification. The Artemis II crew — Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen — are on Day 42 post-splashdown at Johnson Space Center in Houston, continuing physiological reconditioning and mission debriefs. At Kennedy Space Center, Orion's Avcoat heat shield visual inspection continues at the Multi-Payload Processing Facility; formal Marshall Space Flight Center X-ray scans remain on track for summer 2026. Artemis III SLS core stage stacking continues in VAB High Bay 2.