Elon Musk's SpaceX hasn't launched Starship in 2026. When is flight 12?

• SpaceX's Starship rocket has not launched in nearly five months, an unusual delay for the program.
• Elon Musk previously suggested the next launch, flight 12, could occur in March 2026, but no official date has been set.
• The upcoming test will debut Starship Version 3, a larger and more powerful iteration of the rocket.
• Starship is being developed to be a fully reusable system for future NASA moon missions and eventual travel to Mars.

We've entered the third month of 2026, and SpaceX's gargantuan Starship rocket has yet to make its debut this year.

In fact, the world's largest rocket has not gotten off the ground in nearly five months from SpaceX's Starbase headquarters and company town in South Texas. That's an unusual delay in launch operations for Starship, which SpaceX has reliably tested every one to four months since its second-ever flight in November 2023.

Could the gap between flight tests be because SpaceX is making crucial final preparations to a new version of Starship that could be the iteration to embark on key missions in the years ahead to orbit? Indeed, the next time SpaceX rolls out the 400-foot rocket to the launch pad, it will be a revamped design of the vehicle being developed for missions to the moon – and potentially Mars.

Elon Musk, the world's richest man who founded SpaceX in 2002, has previously teased that the next Starship launch – a mission the commercial spaceflight company refers to as flight 12 – could come in early March. The mission would be Starship's 12th overall and first of 2026 following a year of five tests flights that ended in October on a high note.

Here's everything to know about SpaceX's Starship, and when it could launch again

When is Starship flight 12? What to know about next SpaceX launch date

Musk, SpaceX's founder and chief executive, previously indicated Starship was on track for a 2026 debut in March. In a Jan. 26 post on X, Musk shared a photo of Starship with a simple message: "Starship launch in 6 weeks."

Musk's announcement would mean SpaceX was targeting a March liftoff from Starbase, SpaceX's company town and headquarters in Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border.

But as of March 2, SpaceX has not announced an official target launch date for its next Starship test. The mission is also not listed on SpaceX's online launch schedule.

Federal Aviation Administration approves new flight paths

Ahead of the flight test, the Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial rocket launches, gave the green light for three new flight paths for SpaceX to fly Starship. The trajectories, which would go over parts of the United States, Mexico and some of the Caribbean islands, are critical for Starship's upper stage to reach orbit and then return for a landing back at Starbase – feats SpaceX has yet to accomplish.

Time between Starship flight 11, flight 12 unusual

It's notable for so many months to pass between SpaceX's flight tests of Starship, the last of which came in October 2025.

The only other occasion in which there was this big of a gap between Starship launches was between the first and second test flights, when about seven months transpired between the inaugural mission in April 2023 and its second launch in November that same year.

Starship's maiden voyage ended in disaster when the rocket exploded just four minutes into the April 20, 2023 test flight. During the second launch test of Starship on Nov. 18, 2023, the rocket survived for longer and achieved some milestones, but it still eventually exploded.

What is SpaceX's Starship? How tall is it?

Standing at more than 400 feet tall when fully stacked, Starship is regarded as the largest and most powerful launch vehicle in the world.

SpaceX is developing Starship to be a fully reusable transportation system, meaning the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions. The fully integrated spacecraft is composed of both a lower-stage booster known as Super Heavy that provides the initial burst of thrust at liftoff, as well as an upper stage simply called Starship, which is the vehicle where crew and cargo would ride.

In the years ahead, Starship is due to help NASA astronauts land on the moon under the U.S. space agency's Artemis program. Musk also has dreams of Starship being the vehicle that transports the first humans to Mars, though in February he announced SpaceX's intentions of shifting its focus to building a lunar city first.

What happened with Starship in 2025?

SpaceX conducted five Starship flight tests in 2025, the first three of which ended in disaster when the vehicle met a premature fiery demise before completing many key objectives.

But SpaceX ended 2025 on a high note, with its final two Starship launches of the year in August and October being considered inarguable successes.

The most recent Starship test, taking place Oct. 13, was also the final flight for that iteration of the rocket, known as Version 2.

What's next for SpaceX, Starship in 2026? Version 3 to make debut

SpaceX's next prototype of Starship, known as Version 3, is expected to make its debut during flight 12 from Starbase.

At about 408 feet tall, Version 3 is expected to not only be slightly larger than its predecessor, but considerably more powerful, according to Musk.

If all goes to plan, Version 3 (V3) could be the Starship model to reach orbit and also refuel its upper stage midflight. The complex process, requiring two Starships equipped with docking adapters to meet up in orbit to transfer hundreds of tons of super-cooled propellant, is necessary for Starship to reach distant destinations like Mars.

This story has been updated to add new information.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected]