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The next space launch, retrieved from our Launch Library 2 API, is Starship | Flight 12. It is scheduled to be launched by SpaceX from Orbital Launch Pad 2, SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA at 2026-05-21 22:30:00 UTC. Until then, this pad will have been used for 0 out of 20 launches from this location. The launch status is currently Go 🟩 . The mission type is Test Flight and the payload will be injected into a Suborbital (Sub).

12th test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle. Maiden Flight of Starship V3.

The flight test’s primary goal will be to demonstrate each of these new pieces in the flight environment for the first time, with each element of the Starship architecture featuring significant redesigns to enable full and rapid reuse that incorporate learnings from years of development and test.

The Starship upper stage will target multiple in-space and reentry objectives, including a payload deployment of 20 Starlink simulators, similar in size to next-generation Starlink V3 satellites, and two specially modified Starlink satellites. The two modified satellites will test hardware planned for Starlink V3 and will attempt to scan Starship’s heat shield and transmit imagery down to operators to test methods of analyzing Starship’s heat shield readiness for return to launch site on future missions. Several tiles on Starship have been painted white to simulate missing tiles and serve as imaging targets in the test. The Starlink simulators will be on the same suborbital trajectory as Starship. A relight of a single Raptor engine while in space is also planned.

For Starship entry, a single heat shield tile has been intentionally removed to measure the aerodynamic load differences on adjacent tiles when there is a tile missing. Finally, the ship will perform experimental actions tested on previous flight tests, including a maneuver to intentionally stress the structural limits of the vehicle’s rear flaps and a dynamic banking maneuver to mimic the trajectory that future missions returning to Starbase will fly.

• [2026-05-21 22:30:00 UTC] 🟩 Starship | Flight 12 from SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA.
• [2026-05-22 09:30:00 UTC] 🟩 Electron | Viva La StriX (StriX Launch 9) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand.
• [2026-05-24 14:00:00 UTC] 🟩 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-37 from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.
• [2026-05-24 14:58:00 UTC] 🟩 Long March 2F/G | Shenzhou 23 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China.
• [2026-05-25 11:41:00 UTC] 🟩 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 10-47 from Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA.
• [2026-05-26 16:00:00 UTC] 🟨 Long March 7A | Unknown Payload from Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China.
• [2026-05-28 14:00:00 UTC] 🟩 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-41 from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.
• [2026-05-29 11:52:00 UTC] 🟩 Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 10-53 from Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA.
• [2026-05-29 23:33:00 UTC] 🟩 Atlas V 551 | Amazon Leo (LA-07) from Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA.
• [2026-05-31 00:00:00 UTC] 🟧 GSLV Mk II | GISAT-1A (EOS-05) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India.

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