SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in February that the powerful Starship rocket would launch on its 12th test flight this month, although several recent reports suggest it may not leave the launch pad until early April.
Pre-flight testing of the Starship rocket is already underway at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in south Texas as the team works to prepare the rocket for show.
In a key step toward launch day, the first stage Super Heavy — the most powerful booster ever flown — underwent a ground-based engine test, known as a static fire, on Monday.
NASASpaceflight, which has a number of cameras stationed on the Starbase site, shared some footage from the test.
Monday’s test produced three initial results for SpaceX. It was the first time the new Pad 2 had been used in this way, the first such test for the new Starship Version 3, and the first time the rocket’s new Raptor 3 engines had been pressed into service for such an operation.
But the static fire ended after just a few seconds – much shorter than usual – suggesting there may have been a problem as the engines roared. SpaceX has not yet made any official comment on the outcome of the important preflight test.
The Starship last flew in October 2025. That means there was a long wait for the giant rocket’s 12th flight, especially considering that recent Starship launches occurred within two or three months of each other.
The delay was attributed to the additional preparation required for the new version of Starship.
Once fully completed, SpaceX’s newest and largest rocket will be used for crew and cargo flights to the moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program and could even carry the first humans to Mars.
Initially, a modified version of the upper stage spacecraft will be used to return humans to the lunar surface as part of the Artemis IV mission, currently scheduled for 2028.
