Flight 12 (Booster 19, Ship 39) pre-flight preparations

[AndrewM]

Updates and discussion thread for Starship flight 12 ahead of flight.

Separate threads will be created nearer launch. This will be the 1st flight of Starship 'V3'. Launch is currently targeting early 2026.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1949995479179436331 [July 28]

This is V2 Starship.

V3 hopefully launches end of year.

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1956569897594483036 [Aug 16]

Starship Flight 12: Ship 39's nosecone is in the air in the Starsfactory as they work on stacking this vehicle.

http://nsf.live/starbase

mod edit 20-Oct: changed launch target from end of 2025 to early 2026
mod edit 21-Nov: changed title to reflect B18 anomaly

[catdlr]

Starship Gazer@StarshipGazer
·
A view of the windward tiled side of Starship 39's nose cone in the Starfactory tonight. The first Version 3 next-gen Starship is being assembled.

8/17/25

https://x.com/StarshipGazer/status/1957328059117293805

[catdlr]

Shaun Gisler@lifeatstagezero
Took a drive out in the evening to peak through the windows. Here is 39. Total of 5 cones visible to me. They seem to have much confidence in events going forward.

[Masshole]

Elon posted renders of V3 Starship:

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1955736230127374751

Raptor 3 seems like the pacing item...

[Steven Pietrobon]

From the above X post.

[catdlr]

Ceaser G@CeaserG33
Interesting tank spotted at the Starfactory. What could this be used for?
@NASASpaceflight

Maybe a Ver3 upgrade, or maybe an experiment?

https://twitter.com/CeaserG33/status/1967075984118861949

[wannamoonbase]

Ceaser G@CeaserG33
Interesting tank spotted at the Starfactory. What could this be used for?
@NASASpaceflight

Maybe a Ver3 upgrade, or maybe an experiment?

https://twitter.com/CeaserG33/status/1967075984118861949

Would it make more sense to be inverted, as in the bottom of a tank into the downcomer?

[bronconut]

Could it be the start of a Starship tanker? Cone would be top of the ship. Rest below is tank structures.

[MM54]

The big butterfly valve (?) at the top feels very test article to me, but the big brackets on the side are... strange.

Hair-brained notion is that this sits inside the booster methane tank and those brackets support the gridfin motor/actuators... the question there would be why (or I'm interpreting scale all wrong and this is too big/small for that). Perhaps this flares out to 9m below where we can see, and this is the inside top of the booster, with that interstitial space for all the stuff that previously was on the forward dome under the HSR (avionics, batteries, etc.)?

[Kiwi53]

Elon posted renders of V3 Starship:

No more "cowbell" ullage thrusters?
Or is this a simplified render?

[catdlr]

Ceaser G@CeaserG33
Interesting tank spotted at the Starfactory. What could this be used for?
@NASASpaceflight

Maybe a Ver3 upgrade, or maybe an experiment?

https://x.com/CeaserG33/status/1967075984118861949

Would it make more sense to be inverted, as in the bottom of a tank into the downcomer?

I didn't have time to finish my posting for significant images, here is the other:

https://twitter.com/AshleyKillip/status/1967340800955846957

[catdlr]

Ceaser G@CeaserG33
Interesting tank spotted at the Starfactory. What could this be used for?
@NASASpaceflight

Maybe a Ver3 upgrade, or maybe an experiment?

https://x.com/CeaserG33/status/1967075984118861949

https://twitter.com/ENNEPS/status/1968016055395406224

https://twitter.com/CSI_Starbase/status/1968013425398911459

Zack Golden@CSI_Starbase

The mystery tank has now gone into Megabay 1, which makes it a lot less likely that it's related to orbital propellant transfer hardware.

This may end up being a component of Booster 18 or another test tank that has yet to roll out of Starfactory.

https://twitter.com/CSI_Starbase/status/1968043422314615090

[catdlr]

Ceaser G@CeaserG33
Interesting tank spotted at the Starfactory. What could this be used for?
@NASASpaceflight

Maybe a Ver3 upgrade, or maybe an experiment?

https://x.com/CeaserG33/status/1967075984118861949

https://x.com/ENNEPS/status/1968016055395406224

https://x.com/CSI_Starbase/status/1968013425398911459

Zack Golden@CSI_Starbase

The mystery tank has now gone into Megabay 1, which makes it a lot less likely that it's related to orbital propellant transfer hardware.

This may end up being a component of Booster 18 or another test tank that has yet to roll out of Starfactory.

https://x.com/CSI_Starbase/status/1968043422314615090

Most likely an HLS-purposed tank with anti-boil-off technology.

It would have gone into MB-2 if that was the case.  MB-1 is the Booster and that's not going anywhere close to LEO.

[catdlr]

ChromeKiwi@AshleyKillip
Booster 18 long-awaited aft section looking very much the renders rolling out of the Star Factory this evening thanks to
@LabPadre for the pics and @SpaceX the amount of work involved in this section alone is insane with all of the hardlines moved to the exterior for engine spin start from the QD, Tank Autogenous pressure, Electrical conduit.

https://twitter.com/AshleyKillip/status/1968940414209245370

[catdlr]

Those plastic wrap pods along the side of the aft section are the BQD connections

https://twitter.com/AshleyKillip/status/1969149279655604565

[Robotbeat]

Wonder if there’s any chance at all of a launch of Flight 12 still this year. I’m leaning toward no, but I wonder if there are official/semi-official estimates of a NET date in 2026.

[StraumliBlight]

Wonder if there’s any chance at all of a launch of Flight 12 still this year. I’m leaning toward no, but I wonder if there are official/semi-official estimates of a NET date in 2026.

Ars Technica: SpaceX’s lesson from last Starship flight? “We need to seal the tiles. [Sep 9]

"Next year, we step up to another version of both ship and booster, called V3 (Version 3)," Gerstenmaier said in response to a question from Ars. "It also has a new Raptor engine underneath, with more performance than the previous ones. So we'll fly V3 (suborbital) first, and then if that's successful, then we'll probably go orbital after that with the next V3."

[catdlr]

Wonder if there’s any chance at all of a launch of Flight 12 still this year. I’m leaning toward no, but I wonder if there are official/semi-official estimates of a NET date in 2026.

With 2.5 months left in the year, and all the testing on that highly complex OLM-2 mount and pad.  They need to test with 18 on it to make sure all the lines and plumbing work.  No way a flight by the end of the year.

[Robotbeat]

Wonder if there’s any chance at all of a launch of Flight 12 still this year. I’m leaning toward no, but I wonder if there are official/semi-official estimates of a NET date in 2026.

Ars Technica: SpaceX’s lesson from last Starship flight? “We need to seal the tiles. [Sep 9]

"Next year, we step up to another version of both ship and booster, called V3 (Version 3)," Gerstenmaier said in response to a question from Ars. "It also has a new Raptor engine underneath, with more performance than the previous ones. So we'll fly V3 (suborbital) first, and then if that's successful, then we'll probably go orbital after that with the next V3."

Im aware of that quote. Also not gonna read too much into it.

I don’t expect flight 12 this year. I hope it occurs in January. I expect it to occur by the end of March or earlier.

[ChrisC]

Mod: massive quotes trimmed down.