SpaceX Targets March for Starship Flight 12 Launch

SpaceX Starship launching during its Integrated Flight Test
from Boca Chica, Texas, April 20, 2023. Photo by Osunpokeh, licensed
under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

SpaceX is targeting early 2026, potentially March (per Elon Musk's
February statement) for Starship's 12th flight test—the longest pause
(five months) since October 2025—with the Starship V3 configuration,
described by analysts as the most capable version to date, according to
USA Today and Teslarati.

On January 26, Musk posted a photo of Starship on X with the message
"Starship launch in 6 weeks," placing the expected launch around early
March. That estimate aligned with SpaceX's earlier public statement
that Flight 12 "remains targeted for the first quarter of 2026."

What Flight 12 Involves

Flight 12 will debut the Starship V3 configuration — described by
analysts as the most capable version of the spacecraft to date —
according to Basenor. The mission launches from Orbital Pad B at
Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. Both the first-stage booster and the
second-stage spacecraft are expected to either return to the launch site
or perform a controlled water landing, per FCC license documentation
reviewed by RocketLaunch.Live.

The FCC granted a launch communications license for the Flight 12
mission in December 2025. According to FCC records, the authorized
launch window runs from April 5 to October 5, 2026 — suggesting the
agency has built in flexibility beyond SpaceX's stated March target.

The Gap Since Flight 11

The pause between Flight 11 and Flight 12 is notable by the program's
own standards. The only comparable gap in Starship's test history came
between the first and second test flights — when approximately seven
months elapsed between the inaugural April 2023 mission and its November
2023 follow-up, according to USA Today.

Flight 11, in October 2025, ended what SpaceX described as a high note
for the year — capping a five-flight run in 2025 that steadily
demonstrated improved recovery and reuse capabilities. Flight 12 is
expected to advance those objectives further under the V3 configuration.

National Attention on the Program

Starship occupies a unique space in the national conversation around
space exploration. It is the vehicle NASA has selected as the Human
Landing System for its Artemis lunar program. Its development timeline
carries implications well beyond SpaceX's own commercial ambitions.

No official launch date had been confirmed as of early March 2026,
according to USA Today. The agency and the company have both maintained
that the mission remains on track for Q1, but weather, regulatory
approvals, and technical readiness all factor into the final
determination.

References: 88901990007 | Elon Musk Starship Next Launch Timeline V3 | Starship V3 Flight 12 Whats Coming And What It Means