A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is on display outside the Space Exploration Technologies Corp. facility on March 26, 2026 in Hawthorne, California.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
SpaceX is preparing Thursday for the 12th test flight of its giant Starship rocket, a landmark launch ahead of the company’s IPO scheduled for next month.
The launch marks the debut of Starship V3, which SpaceX said in Wednesday’s IPO prospectus is “designed to transport 100 metric tons into Earth’s orbit in a fully reusable configuration while enabling rapid turnaround times similar to commercial aviation.”
The 90-minute launch slot is scheduled to begin at 6:30 PM ET, and the event will be available for viewing via webcast. Launches may be delayed due to weather or other disruptions.
Elon Musk’s reusable rocket maker spent more than $15 billion on the Starship program, according to a filing Wednesday. The company says Starship will be key to launching more satellites into orbit to build the Starlink constellation at a faster pace than using the Falcon 9 rocket. Starlink provides wireless Internet services to consumers, businesses, and government agencies.
The latest version of the Starship rocket will launch from a newly designed pad at SpaceX’s facility in Starbase, Texas, the official corporate city formerly known as Boca Chica.
The test flight will likely be the company’s last chance to wow investors with a Starship launch before its shares hit the public market. Last year, SpaceX’s space division had revenue of $4.1 billion and an operating loss of $657 million.
The company relies on Starlink for all of its huge revenue and profits. The connectivity segment, which consists mostly of Starlink, generated $11.4 billion in revenue and $4.4 billion in operating income in 2025. This accounted for 61% of the company’s total sales last year and 69% in the first quarter.
Regarding its space business, SpaceX said in its prospectus: “Our growth strategy depends on our ability to increase our launch pace and payload capacity, which is dependent on the success of Starship’s large-scale development.”
Musk has long had an ambitious goal of colonizing Mars by using Starship rockets to lift cargo and up to 100 people into orbit at a time.
NASA is also betting that Starship will serve as a lander to carry astronauts to the moon on the Artemis IV mission, currently scheduled for early 2028. The mission will be the first return for U.S. astronauts to the moon in more than half a century.
When fully stacked, Starship V3 stands 408 feet tall and has new engines that make it a more powerful rocket with 18 million pounds of thrust. The company will carry mock Starlink satellites during test flights, but not astronauts or other cargo.
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