The Vehicle
Starship V3 is a clean-sheet redesign. The first V3 stack pairs Booster 19 and Ship 39, both powered by Raptor 3 engines.
Stacked, V3 is 408 feet tall. That is about four feet taller than V2. The new design can carry over 100 tons to low Earth orbit, nearly triple V2's 35-ton load.
The Mission Profile
Flight 12 will follow a suborbital arc, similar to past flights. Both the booster and ship target a water splashdown.
That is a step back from the tower catch SpaceX nailed on Flight 11. The team wants to validate V3 hardware before pushing for catch milestones again. A clean V3 flight is the priority.
Why Timing Matters for the IPO
The public S-1 prospectus is expected between May 15 and 22. The roadshow follows the week of June 8.
If V3 flies clean before the S-1 lands, the bull case writes itself. SpaceX is asking for a $1.75 trillion to $2 trillion valuation. That number leans on Starship working at scale, not just Falcon and Starlink.
The Money Already Spent
SpaceX has poured more than $15 billion into Starship to date. The confidential filing on April 1 disclosed the figure.
That is a big chunk of the $75 billion the company plans to raise. Investors will want proof the spend is producing rockets that fly back, not science projects.
What Else Is Working
Booster 19 ran a full 33-engine static fire on April 15. Ship 39 ran a full-duration static fire the day before.
The V3 stack will also be the first launch from Orbital Launch Pad 2 at Starbase. That second pad supports a higher launch cadence over time. More flights mean more data and lower per-launch cost.
Risks Around the Date
Static fires went well, but maiden flights of new vehicles often slip. A scrub or a failed flight before the S-1 would shake the price talk.
A clean flight does the opposite. It hands the bookrunners a story they can pitch into the roadshow without caveats.
Bottom Line
The next ten days carry a lot of weight for the SpaceX deal. May 12 is the launch target. May 15 to 22 is the S-1 window. June 8 starts the roadshow. Watch the launch first. The trade follows.
