IFT-12 Starship Block 3 Launch Slips 24 Hours to NET May 20 — T-1 Day Checkouts Continue at Starbase OLP-2

SpaceX updated the No Earlier Than (NET) date for Starship Integrated Flight Test 12 (IFT-12) to May 20, 2026, slipping the window by approximately 24 hours from the previously announced NET May 19. The revised launch window opens at 22:30 UTC (5:30 p.m. CDT) on May 20 from Orbital Launch Pad 2 (OLP-2), Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas. The brief slip is attributed to additional vehicle checkout time for the IFT-12 stack — Super Heavy Booster 19 (first fully Raptor-3-powered Super Heavy) mated to Ship 39 (first V3-configuration Starship, 124.4 m tall) — as SpaceX's launch team completes final propellant system verifications, avionics software validation, and communications link confirmation with range safety authorities. The FAA Flight Safety Approval issued May 11, 2026, and FCC authorization remain valid. As of May 18, the vehicle is in a final 'T-1 day configuration hold' at OLP-2 with no vehicle anomalies reported. IFT-12 key objectives: Super Heavy Booster 19 Gulf of Mexico splashdown (~7 min post-liftoff, no Mechazilla catch on this first Block 3 flight); Ship 39 Indian Ocean splashdown (~65 min); deployment of 22 Starlink mass-simulator payloads from Ship 39's cargo bay; and thermal imaging of the V3 heat shield during reentry by two 'Starlink Observer' satellites. Bloomberg published an analysis on May 18 noting IFT-12 is the most consequential Starship test yet given the impending IPO — a successful V3 flight could validate the $1.75T+ valuation SpaceX is seeking for its June 2026 Nasdaq debut.