SPACEX STARSHIP INTEGRATED FLIGHT TEST 12 (IFT-12), May 22, 2026, Starbase, TX, 6:30 pm ET

Update, May 22, 11:25 am ET: SpaceX confirms they’ll try again today. Launch window is the same. Webcast begins about 45 minutes prior to liftoff and they’ve changed the time the webcast will begin in just the last few minutes. Now it’s 5:58 pm ET, so liftoff would be about 6:45 pm ET. Check the SpaceX website or X feed to stay up to date.

Update May 22: The SpaceX website says they are “preparing to launch” today, although that news hasn’t been posted on X as of 7:45 am ET.  The launch window (6:30-8:00 pm ET) remains the same, with the webcast beginning 45 minutes before liftoff.

Update, May 21:  The launch was scrubbed. A new date is pending but they said it could launch tomorrow, May 22, if they can fix the problems that arose today.

Update, May 20: The launch is still scheduled for tomorrow, May 21, although the weather is only 55% favorable. Hour-and-a-half launch window opens at 5:30 pm CENTRAL time (6:30 pm ET).  Livestream begins 45 minutes before liftoff.

The 90-minute test window opens at 5:30 p.m. CT with live coverage starting ~45 minutes before liftoff. Weather is currently 55% favorable for liftoff → https://t.co/2gZQUxS6mm

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 21, 2026

Update, May 19: The date is now Thursday, May 21.

Update, May 17:  The banner on SpaceX’s website as of 3:00 pm today shows the launch on May 20 rather than May 19. The window is open for an hour-and-a-half, from 18:30-20:00 ET.

Original Entry: SpaceX officially said on May 12 that it is targeting May 19 for the 12th Starship Integrated Flight Test (IFT). The launch window opens at 5:30 pm CENTRAL Time (6:30 pm Eastern). A live webcast will begin 30 minutes in advance.

It is the first flight of Version 3, or V3, a significant upgrade including completely redesigned Raptor engines.

SpaceX will not attempt to recover the Super Heavy booster on this flight. The “catch” of the enormous booster back at the launch tower by “chopsticks” has been accomplished three times, but for this test flight of  V3 it will land in the Gulf.

Test objectives are summarized on SpaceX’s website.

The most recent Starship launch — the final launch of the V2 version — was on October 13, 2025. That flight, Integrated Test Flight-11 (IFT-11), was a second successful mission following three complete or partial failures. All the Starship flights to date are suborbital, and this flight also will be suborbital.

SpaceX has a 25 minute YouTube video, Test Like You Fly, that shares highs and lows of the past three years of Starship flights.