SpaceX begins 12th Starship orbital test flight

scienceMay 21, 202640132

SpaceX opened a 90-minute launch window at 6:30 p.m. ET for Starship Flight 12 from Orbital Launch Pad 2, planning to carry 22 dummy Starlink satellites with a payload mass of about 44 tons. An automatic pad abort during the launch sequence scrubbed the attempt before liftoff. The flight would have been the first from the new pad and the mission plan listed about 44 tons of payload, not 100 tons. The attempt comes as SpaceX filed an IPO prospectus, and Starship performance on this test matters for future Starlink deployments and SpaceX's commercial valuation.

NASASpaceflight.com

@nasaspaceflight.com

Starship Flight 12 Launch has been scrubbed for today due to a pad auto abort during the launch sequence. Stay tuned to NSF for all the updates as we learn more and when the next launch opportunity is

5957d ago

redoakhandle.bsky.social3

Starship will never carry passengers to the moon.

Lora Kolodny

@lorak.bsky.social

SpaceX is poised for its 12th test flight of Starship. This is a revised version of the rocket. We'll watch so you don't have to. But if you wanna the stream is linked below... www.cnbc.com/2026/05/21/s...

3458d ago

Lora Kolodny11

the launch is streaming over on Xitter. clock's rollin....

Plainfield8

Changing the design of a full scale rocket years after initial test flight is a good way to burn billions and fail.

Big Worker8

I've rarely been so conflicted as when watching these Starship launches. On the one hand I want them to succeed and hugely improve human space capabilities, on the other hand it's also vital for the future of humanity that Elon Musk be disempowered

Dan Davis4

Anybody got the accumulated cost of all these ridiculous failures?

NASAWATCH

@nasawatch.bsky.social

Standing down - not able to resolve this issue today .... #SpaceX #Starship #Flight12

658d ago

Jonathan Serrie

@jonathanserrie.bsky.social

SpaceX scrubs this evening's launch attempt for Starship test flight 12 due to technical problem | Image credit: SpaceX

258d ago

Dr. Jessie Christiansen

@aussiastronomer.bsky.social

T-forty second hold (as expected) for Starship Flight 12 launch! www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBu6...

658d ago

eu-science.bsky.social

@eu-science.bsky.social

SpaceX Starship Flight 12 launch updates: 1st Starship V3 stacked ahead of May 21 liftoff https://www.europesays.com/uk/973237/ Refresh 2026-05-20T12:08:15.587Z Starship stacked ahead of launch SpaceX raises Ship 39 onto its Super Heavy booster ahead of…

559d ago

hydrazine huffers

@rocketsystem.bsky.social

SpaceX’s Starship Flight 12 today isn’t “make or break”, but it’s becoming apparent that they and Blue Origin are becoming the unexpected long poles of the Artemis Program schedule delays. v3 is a new rocket version, and a new launchpad, and there’s very little schedule margin for problems to occur.

SpaceX’s Starship launch vehicle on the uphill during Flight 11.

458d ago

Mr. Fresh™️ 📡

@mrfresh.bsky.social

Oh well, the #starship12 test flight is scrubbed for today, back to the studio. #spacex

358d ago

🔥 Kitts 🔥 🎮 Circle Empire

@kittsgame.bsky.social

Musk opinions aside (extreme douche), Starship Flight 12 is about 1.5 hours away, and I'm as ready as I can be. This is a huge step for space exploration, and, by extension, the Artemis Program. If this goes well, Artemis III should be on track for the planned Starship rendezvous. 🚀🌌

Four Youtube livestreams from different channels covering Starship Flight 12 Launch

358d ago

the womandalorian

@thewomandalorian.bsky.social

test flight of Starship starts in one minute if you want to watch a potential fuckup

58d ago

Mick Norweeld

@norweeld.bsky.social

Watch Live: #SpaceX #Starship launches on 12th test flight youtu.be/JcNsHf607hU

258d ago

Richie M

@djrichiem.bsky.social

Scrub :( no SPACE SCIENCE but rather a scrub than a failure. This is why its called a test flight. 1st launch from the new pad, which i think is the reason for the scrub, so there are A LOT of things to get right

158d ago

cosmos4u.bsky.social

@cosmos4u.bsky.social

The new t-zero for the Starship test flight no. 12 is 23:30 UTC after two (unexplained) delays: independent webcasts are already on at www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcNs... and www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBu6... with the official one at x.com/i/broadcasts... now scheduled for 22:43 UTC.

158d ago

The Alpha Centauri

@theacentauri.bsky.social

Starship Flight 12 — перший політ Version 3, яку й проєктували під дозаправку — має стартувати вже цієї ночі. New Glenn від Blue Origin наразі не літає: FAA розслідує невдачу попередньої місії.

158d ago

TJStamp

@tjstamp.co.uk

Struggling to separate my absolute loathing of Elon Musk from my admiration for the engineers at #SpaceX. Tonight they hopefully launch test flight 12 of #Starship with some very major upgrades since last time. I'm a little giddy for this one. Livestream will be here from 10:30pm

158d ago

1 source

cnbc.comSpaceX readies 12th test flight of massive Starship rocket as IPO looms

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SpaceX begins 12th Starship orbital test flight

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