Starship V3 Completes First Full-Duration Static Fire

SpaceX's next-generation Starship Version 3 (V3) has cleared a key hurdle ahead of its historic first launch in May. On Tuesday evening, April 14, the company announced a successful full-duration static fire test of the V3 upper stage — a test in which engines are ignited while the vehicle remains anchored to the launch pad.

"Full-duration static fire for the first time on Starship V3," SpaceX confirmed via its official channel. The upcoming launch, targeting early to mid-May, will mark Starship's 12th flight overall and V3's very first.

What Makes V3 Different

Starship V3 represents a significant leap over its predecessors in both size and capability. When fully stacked, the vehicle stands 124.4 meters (408 feet) tall — roughly 1.2 meters taller than V2. More strikingly, V3's new Raptor engines allow it to carry over 100 metric tons to low Earth orbit, nearly three times the ~35-ton capacity of V2, according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

The V3 booster's first static fire in March had tested only 10 of its 33 Raptor engines before ending early due to a ground equipment issue, making this upper-stage success particularly significant.

Built on 11 Test Flights

Starship has completed 11 suborbital test missions to date, with the five most recent flown in V2 configuration. The program has progressed from early explosive failures to demonstrating booster catch maneuvers and controlled upper-stage descents.

The urgency behind V3 development is tied to NASA's Artemis lunar program, which selected Starship as its crewed lunar lander. The Artemis 2 mission recently carried four astronauts around the moon and back safely. Artemis 3 will test docking operations in Earth orbit between NASA's Orion capsule and both Starship and Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander.

A successful V3 launch in May would mark a major step toward returning humans to the lunar surface.