SpaceX Starship Flight 12: Second Attempt Set for Today

📌 UPDATE — May 22, 2026

Propellant loading is now underway for Starship Flight 12, with SpaceX officially declaring the team "go for prop load" approximately one hour before the window opened. The live webcast kicked off at ~5:59 p.m. CT, and NASASpaceflight reports a smooth count so far — a promising sign after yesterday's hydraulic pin scrub. Visible venting and propellant chilling activity at Starbase has been confirmed by on-site observers.

📌 UPDATE — May 22, 2026

Starship Flight 12 Attempt 2 is now actively underway, with the launch window open as of approximately 5:30 p.m. CT. NASASpaceflight confirmed at 1:46 p.m. CT that all systems were proceeding nominally toward the window opening, with live coverage available on X and YouTube. This follows yesterday's scrub due to a hydraulic pin issue that has since been resolved.

SpaceX is going for it again. Starship Flight 12 is targeting a second launch attempt today, May 22, after a stubborn hydraulic pin on the launch tower's quick disconnect arm forced a scrub during the final seconds of yesterday's countdown. The team worked overnight to resolve the issue, and all signs point to a go for this afternoon's window.

The culprit was a hydraulic pin that failed to retract on the quick disconnect arm — the mechanism that must swing clear of the rocket before liftoff. With the pin stuck, the arm couldn't complete its retraction sequence, and SpaceX correctly called the scrub rather than proceed with any uncertainty that close to ignition. Elon Musk confirmed the issue publicly and indicated a same-day fix was the goal if the repair could be completed in time.

This flight carries extra weight beyond the usual test-flight stakes. Starship Flight 12 debuts Booster 19 and Ship 39, the first Block 3 (V3) vehicles — featuring upgraded Raptor engines and launching from Starbase's newly constructed Pad 2. The mission profile includes a controlled offshore booster landing in the Gulf of Mexico (no tower catch attempt this time), deployment of 20 Starlink simulators plus two modified Starlink satellites designed for heat shield scanning, and a targeted upper stage splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The launch window opens at 5:30 p.m. CT (6:30 p.m. ET) and runs for 90 minutes.

A single hydraulic pin delaying humanity's most powerful rocket by 24 hours is a reminder of how unforgiving launch operations are at this scale — but the overnight turnaround, if confirmed, is exactly the kind of rapid iteration SpaceX has built its reputation on. Watch the 5:30 p.m. CT window closely.

🚀 Following the Starship program? See every test flight, official outcome and the next launch window in our SpaceX Starship Tracker.

This report was curated by the BASENOR Editorial Desk from the sources listed above. Read our editorial standards or email editorial@basenor.com to report an error.