SpaceX Completes Wet Dress Rehearsal for First Starship V3

📌 UPDATE — May 17, 2026

Following the successful Wet Dress Rehearsal, SpaceX has moved into active Flight 12 launch preparations for both Booster 19 and Ship 39. Notably, Pad 2 at Starbase has been seeing numerous Deluge system tests — a key step in verifying the water suppression infrastructure ahead of the next orbital attempt. NASASpaceflight reports the pace of pad activity signals meaningful progress toward a launch date.

NSF tweet about Starship Flight 12 Deluge tests on Pad 2

📹 Watch Deluge test footage via @NASASpaceflight

📌 UPDATE — May 12, 2026

Following the successful Wet Dress Rehearsal, SpaceX is now targeting No Earlier Than (NET) May 19 for Starship Flight 12, according to navigational warnings issued to mariners. The NOTAM-style warnings, sourced from the NGA, mark the first concrete launch window indication since the WDR was completed, suggesting the campaign for Booster 19 and Ship 39 is progressing on schedule. If SpaceX holds to this date, Flight 12 would come roughly two months after Flight 11 and represent the first flight of the Starship V3 configuration.

📡 @NASASpaceflight — May 12, 2026 · View Tweet

📌 UPDATE — May 12, 2026

Following the successful Wet Dress Rehearsal, SpaceX is now targeting May 15, 2026 as a potential launch date for Starship Flight 12 (Booster 19 + Ship 39), according to NASASpaceflight. The window is not yet locked in — the date could still slip depending on final readiness checks and regulatory approvals. If the May 15 target holds, it would mark a remarkably rapid turnaround from WDR to launch attempt, underscoring SpaceX's accelerating pace of Starship development.

via @NASASpaceflight · May 11, 2026

SpaceX has completed the second Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) attempt for the first Starship V3, clearing a critical pre-launch milestone on the path toward orbital flight. The test — which involves fully loading the vehicle with cryogenic propellants without igniting the engines — simulates launch-day conditions and validates that ground systems, fueling sequences, and vehicle hardware are ready for the real thing.

NASASpaceflight tweet reporting SpaceX Wet Dress Rehearsal of first V3 Starship Attempt 2 — Source: @NASASpaceflight — May 11, 2026

This marks the second attempt at the WDR after an earlier try on May 9, 2026 was aborted before completion. The vehicle in question is Flight 12 — pairing Booster 19 with Ship 39 — the debut configuration of the redesigned V3 architecture. A successful WDR is typically one of the final boxes to check before SpaceX requests a launch license and sets a flight date.

NASASpaceflight YouTube livestream link for Starship V3 WDR coverage — Source: @NASASpaceflight — May 11, 2026

Starship V3 represents a significant step up from previous iterations, and Flight 12 will be the first opportunity to see the upgraded stack perform in a live launch environment. With the WDR now behind them, SpaceX's next major hurdle is a static fire test of Booster 19's Raptor engines before the countdown to an actual launch attempt can begin. For our full SpaceX coverage, follow along as Flight 12 preparations continue.