SpaceX has high hopes for the upgraded version of Starship debuting today, called Version 3 or V3. CEO Elon Musk has said “it takes three major iterations of any new technology to have it really work well” — and SpaceX could use some of that third-time charm.
The company is racing to get Starship ready to launch satellites and carry humans into deep space, including fulfilling NASA’s plan to use the vehicle to land its astronauts on the moon amid a space race with China.
Starship V3 will not repeat the flight paths used during V2 testing last year, which traced a route from the tip of South Texas to the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX is making clear that it’s not expecting the first run of Starship V3 to go perfectly.
But the company did lay out a few milestones it really hopes to hit:
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Execute a safe launch and ascent of the Super Heavy rocket booster with the Starship spacecraft atop
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Successfully separate Starship from Super Heavy after the latter finishes burning its engines
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Guide the Super Heavy booster back to a controlled landing in the Gulf
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Deploy 22 simulator satellites, including two that will collect data about how the Starship spacecraft’s heat shield is performing
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Relight one of Starship’s Raptor rocket engines during the coasting phase of the flight
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Put the Starship spacecraft through its paces with a series of maneuvers designed to stress test the vehicle, aiming to collect data about how the vehicle may one day be safely returned to the launch tower so it can be rapidly flown again
SpaceX will not attempt to land the Super Heavy rocket booster back between the extended metal arms of the Mechazilla launch tower, as the company has done during previous test flights.
