SpaceX's Starship V3 is scheduled to launch no earlier than 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21 from Starbase, Texas, marking the 12th overall flight of the fully stacked rocket and the first of the redesigned Version 3. The launch comes as SpaceX prepares to potentially move Starship operations to Cape Canaveral by year's end, a development that could reshape Florida's role in the company's ambitious plans. The Texas site, located east of Brownsville, has been the primary testing ground for the Starship program since 2020.
Meanwhile, SpaceX is also set to resume its regular launch schedule in Florida with a Falcon 9 rocket liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 40. The window opens at 5:26 a.m. Thursday, with a deadline of 9:26 a.m. for the mission. This follows a brief pause in Florida launches after the company's last mission on May 14. The Falcon 9 will carry a Starlink payload, continuing SpaceX's work to expand global broadband coverage.
In another space-related update, Astrolab's FLIP rover is set to carry NASA science to the moon later this year. The rover will be part of Astrobotic's Griffin-1 lander, launching on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center. The mission supports NASA's Artemis program, which aims to establish a sustainable presence on the lunar surface.
NASA also introduced a full-size model of its Blue Moon lander this week, a vehicle designed to transport astronauts and cargo to the moon. While the source material mentions Blue Origin's expansion, details about the company's specific activities in Florida were not provided in the original report. SpaceX's Starship and Falcon 9 missions remain the primary focus for the region's space industry in the coming months.