Space and Physics
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Starship is returning to the skies tomorrow, if there are no more delays, and you can watch it launch. It will be a crucial test for the latest and improved version of the megarocket, the first launch test of the Block 3 version of Starship. This version is taller, it has more payload capacity, more thrust, and it can even carry more fuel. This is combined with an improved tile design, new engines, and new hardware for refueling operations in low Earth orbit.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.As of October 2025, Starhiship has launched 11 times, with five of those launches ending in failures. This really needs to go well. The plans for the human exploration of the Moon hinge on the success of this launch.
Starship needs to show safe refueling before taking humans to the Moon
This is extremely important because in-orbit refueling is a requirement when it comes to the Artemis program and the return of humans to the Moon. If tomorrow’s test is successful, the in-orbit refueling test is expected to happen this year.
“The large-scale, Starship-to-Starship cryogenic propellant transfer is a critical capability necessary for the Starship human landing system mission for Artemis III and Artemis IV,” a NASA spokesperson told IFLScience in 2024. SpaceX did not respond to our request for comment.
“The propellant transfer test is part of a series of tests, along with detailed design reviews, that will provide NASA data and evidence to certify the lander. Following the propellant transfer demonstration, NASA will review the test results and certify lander systems prior to the crewed demonstration missions to ensure astronaut safety and mission success.”
As you can tell from the date of our original coverage of the refueling, there have been severe delays when it comes to Starship. Block 2, the previous version of Starship, had a mixed run. Only six Block 2s were ever built, and only five flew in tests. Of those tests, only the last two were successful, with the ship conducting a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The rest of the tests ended in explosions.
NASA, too, has changed plans, despite the success of Artemis II. In February it was announced that Artemis III would no longer land on the Moon but instead see NASA’s Orion spacecraft rendezvous with Starship and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon around Earth. This will be another crucial test for the program, and just weeks ago, it was revealed that the mission has been postponed from mid-to-late 2027.
Last November, a leak of internal SpaceX documents, reported by Audrey Decker at Politico, revealed that Starship wouldn’t be ready to land on the Moon until at least September 2028. A lot is riding on this launch.
What’s New With Starship?
The new ship is almost 1.8 meters (6 feet) taller than the previous version, and the booster is 1.3 meters (4.3 feet) taller than its predecessor. Stacked together, with a height of 124 meters (408 feet) – almost as tall as the Great Pyramid of Giza – it is the tallest rocket ever built.
The payload capacity has gone from 35 tons to 100 tons, and it is also bringing more fuel. The booster rocket is expected to produce 10 percent more thrust at ignition than Version 2, and Starship will produce 14 percent more thrust than the Block 2 setup.
It has been reported that this launch will see a different and more southerly path. Starship launches from Boca Chica, Texas, and the previous flight path sent the craft over the Florida Strait. When Starship exploded last year, the debris rained down over Caribbean islands, including the Turks and Caicos Islands, as well as Florida. The new path across the Gulf of Mexico passes between the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba.
How to watch
The launch window opens on Thursday, May 21, at 5:30 pm CDT (10:30 pm UTC). SpaceX will livestream the launch on both its YouTube channel and on its X page, starting about 45 minutes before takeoff.
