{"id":420569,"date":"2026-02-11T21:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T21:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/420569\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T21:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T21:10:14","slug":"spacexs-mighty-starship-rocket-enters-final-testing-for-12th-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/420569\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX&#8217;s mighty Starship rocket enters final testing for 12th flight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SpaceX is edging toward the 12th launch of its Starship rocket, which this time will see a new version of the massive vehicle head skyward.<\/p>\n<p>The launch team has just completed a crucial test of the Starship\u2019s first stage \u2014 the Super Heavy \u2014 at its Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas.<\/p>\n<p>It shared a short video and some images (below) of the most powerful booster ever built with the message: \u201cCryoproof operations complete for the first time with a Super Heavy V3 booster. This multi-day campaign tested the booster\u2019s redesigned propellant systems and its structural strength.\u201d<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Cryoproof operations complete for the first time with a Super Heavy V3 booster. This multi-day campaign tested the booster\u2019s redesigned propellant systems and its structural strength <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RpMQ1DoT5x\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/RpMQ1DoT5x<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpaceX\/status\/2021256489424265528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">February 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>No anomalies have been reported, setting the booster up nicely for a static fire test, hopefully in the coming days.<\/p>\n<p>After that, attention will shift to the upper-stage Ship, which will also undergo preflight testing prior to being lifted atop the Super Heavy in preparation for launch.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX is targeting March for the 12th Starship test flight, according to a recent post on X by Elon Musk, the company\u2019s CEO.<\/p>\n<p>The updated Starship, known as Version 3, stands about a meter higher than its 123-meter-tall predecessor, and comes with more powerful engines and a series of design tweaks to enhance performance.<\/p>\n<p>In an update on Sunday that surprised many, Musk said that SpaceX is pivoting its near-term focus to building a self-sustaining city on the moon, deprioritizing his previously stated ambition of building a city on Mars.<\/p>\n<p>The CEO said the lunar plan is achievable in under 10 years, with the moon offering a more rapid path due to frequent launch windows (every 10 days vs. Mars\u2019 26-month alignments) and shorter trips (2 days vs. 6 months).<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also the added challenge of safely getting humans to the red planet, a feat that has yet to be achieved.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX\u2019s Mars\u2011city efforts will continue as part of a long\u2011term plan, while the company will continue with its involvement in NASA\u2019s Artemis lunar program using Starship.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SpaceX is edging toward the 12th launch of its Starship rocket, which this time will see a new&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[995,55030,90,416,412,4389,55031,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-420569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-elon-musk","tag-rockets","tag-science","tag-space","tag-spacex","tag-starship","tag-super-heavy","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}