IFT-12 Starship Block 3 T-3 Days — Final Countdown Underway at Starbase as NET May 19 Holds, Ship 39 + Booster 19 Fully Stacked

With three days remaining to the No Earlier Than May 19, 2026, launch window (5:30 p.m. CDT / 22:30 UTC) for Starship Integrated Flight Test 12 (IFT-12), SpaceX continued final preparations at Orbital Launch Pad 2 (OLP-2), Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas, on May 16. The IFT-12 vehicle — Super Heavy Booster 19 mated with Ship 39 (the first V3-configuration Starship) — remains fully stacked at 124.4 m on OLP-2. Booster 19 completed a full 33-engine static fire on May 9, 2026, burning all 33 Raptor 3 engines for approximately 6 seconds, with peak thrust exceeding 74 MN. Ship 39's main tank pressurization and avionics checks are underway. The FAA issued its IFT-12 Flight Safety Approval on May 11, 2026, and FCC authorization remains valid through October 2026. Key IFT-12 mission parameters: Super Heavy Booster 19 targets a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 7 minutes after liftoff (no Mechazilla catch on this first Block 3 flight); Ship 39 targets an aquatic splashdown in the Indian Ocean approximately 65 minutes into the mission; the vehicle will attempt to deploy 22 Starlink simulator payloads (mass-representative mock satellites) to validate Starship's cargo bay deployment mechanism. IFT-12 also carries two 'Starlink Observer' satellites positioned to image Ship 39's heat shield during reentry, providing thermal data on the V3 heat shield design. The successful launch of CRS-34 Cargo Dragon on May 15 (SpaceX's 58th orbital mission of 2026) cleared the Cape Canaveral launch schedule, reducing any scheduling conflicts for the Starbase team.