SpaceX Rolls Starship V3 to Launch Pad As Booster Completes Static Fire

SpaceX is nearing the first flight of its next-generation V3 Starship. Yesterday, the company carried out an extended static fire of Super Heavy Booster 19 at Starbase, Texas.

At the same time, teams started moving Ship 39 to the launch mount. With these two final pre-stacking steps underway, SpaceX is preparing to begin stacking at the launch site for Flight 12, the first launch of Starship V3.

Starship Flight 12: Booster 19 Pre-Flight Static Fire (and wow!).

Came after DSS fired up, stopped (no deluge), looked like an abort... then minutes later, recycled, DSS and Deluge - and FIRE!

Live on X and YT:https://t.co/fUrUzOpSa4 https://t.co/2j3vonEUbF pic.twitter.com/24QAfYh6M3

— NSF - NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) May 7, 2026

Booster 19 Static Fire

Booster 19 lit its engines on the newly built orbital launch mount at Pad 2 for about 14 seconds. The longer burn checked the propulsion system’s health while putting the upgraded heavy ground infrastructure through a stress test.

🚨SPACEX BOOSTER 19 STATIC FIRE IN SLOW MOTION & 4K

Seeing the shockwaves create whole areas of condensation for fractions of a second at a time is mesmerizing.

This might very well be the best footage Jordan has ever recorded for WAI.

Enjoy!!! 🔥🔥🔥

📸@Jordanguidry6 pic.twitter.com/OkpGd72Uku

— What about it!? (@FelixSchlang) May 7, 2026

The new water deluge system performed well under the intense thermal and acoustic loads, shielding the concrete below. Keeping the pad intact is key to eventually reaching Falcon 9-level launch cadence with Starship, which is needed for Elon Musk’s plans for orbital data centers.

Super Heavy Booster static fire!@StarbaseTX pic.twitter.com/yCHm3Po2Do

— Mark Federschmidt (@BoosterTribe) May 7, 2026

The Raptor 3 Advantage

Flight 12 is notable for more than an atmospheric demonstration. Ship 39 and Booster 19 are the first Starship V3 prototypes, defined by the full adoption of SpaceX's Raptor 3 engines, which Ship 39 static fired last month.

SpaceX have finally posted the footage of Ship 39's static fire. pic.twitter.com/8ZKJ0tUxO5

— Booster 10 (@booster_10) April 24, 2026

Each Raptor 3 produces roughly 280 tons of thrust. With all 33 engines firing together on Booster 19, the stage delivers 9,240 tons of thrust, making it the most powerful rocket ever ignited. This capability enables Starship V3 to haul over 100 tons to low Earth orbit in a fully reusable configuration, a clear step beyond earlier versions.

Stacking for Flight 12

As Ship 39 heads to the pad, operations are transitioning from component tests to full-stack integration.

Starship Ship 39 rolls out to the launch pad ahead of Test Flight 12! First V3 Starship with bigger tanks, Raptor 3 engines & major upgrades over V2, the future is rolling in! 🚀#Starship #SpaceX #Starbase #StarshipV3 pic.twitter.com/SfKoeZt7LI

— The Space Road (@thespaceroad) May 7, 2026

After Ship 39 is lifted and mated to Booster 19, the team plans a full wet dress rehearsal to validate propellant loading across both vehicles.

If integration goes smoothly, launching Flight 12 within the next few weeks is highly probable. Today’s successful static fire shows the hardware is ready, leaving final stacking and regulatory flight approval as the remaining gates.