Overview
- SpaceX says the next Starship flight will debut the larger Block 3 vehicle from a newly built Pad 2 at its Starbase site in South Texas.
- Version 3 stands about 124 meters tall when stacked, with new Raptor engines, redesigned heat‑shield tiles, more propellant, and hardware for ship‑to‑ship refueling.
- The company plans a controlled splashdown of the Super Heavy booster in the Gulf of Mexico and a test to deploy 22 mock Starlink satellites from the upper stage.
- IFLScience reports a more southerly trajectory between the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba, a change from past flights that scattered debris over parts of the Caribbean and Florida after an explosion.
- NASA has said a large‑scale cryogenic propellant transfer between two Starships is essential for its Artemis lander, and the Block 3 campaign follows mixed Block 2 results and schedule updates that pushed Artemis III’s target into late 2027 and pointed to at least September 2028 for a lunar landing readiness.