Elon Musk mengumumkan bahwa peluncuran pertama "Starship" versi V3 akan ditunda selama 4 hingga 6 minggu, saat ini dijadwalkan pada bulan Mei.

Cailian Press 4 April News (Editor Shi Zhengcheng) On Friday Beijing time, the world’s richest man Musk announced on social media that the V3 version “Starship” spacecraft and the booster will have to wait another 4 to 6 weeks.

（Source: X） Based on this timeline, the test flight that has been highly anticipated by the capital markets is expected to be delayed to early-to-mid May at least, with only a one-month gap from the rumored SpaceX listing.

As background, on January 26 this year, Musk had posted that the “Starship” would be launched within 6 weeks, i.e., before March 9. Later, on March 7, Musk posted again that the V3 version “Starship” first flight would be about 4 weeks later. As the 4-week deadline was approaching, the latest date also shifted to May.

SpaceX’s last launch of a “Starship” was back in October last year, which was also the final flight of the second-version model. At the time, the company said it would move on to the V3 version to upgrade performance and reusability. What has excited the market even more is that SpaceX vice president Kiko Dontchev publicly stated at the end of last year that the V3 version would be a “mass-produced rocket”.

Meanwhile, after the V3 version “super heavy” booster testing was set back at the end of last year, it also completed static ignition tests in mid-March at Starbase’s newly built launch pad No. 2. However, SpaceX also said at the time that that test only conducted static ignition for 10 engines, and it was terminated early due to ground issues. The next step is to prepare for static ignition testing for 33 engines.

（Source: SpaceX） Compared with the V2 version, the third-generation “Starship” is about 5 feet taller, has a larger fuel capacity, and its payload in low Earth orbit reaches 100 tons—nearly 3 times the 35 tons of V2. The spacecraft is equipped with the upgraded Raptor V3 engines and includes docking adapters for in-space fuel transfer. This is precisely a key milestone that SpaceX is trying to break through this year.

As this delay occurs, NASA’s crewed lunar-orbiting Artemis 2 mission is underway. NASA still plans to use SpaceX’s services to send astronauts to the Moon around 2028, but the continuously delayed development progress puts this schedule at risk.

The inspector general report disclosed by NASA last month stated that a crewed lunar landing might require launching more than ten “Starships.” Multiple rockets will deliver propellant to Earth orbit, and then transfer fuel to a storage relay spacecraft. The relay will then refuel a “Starship” variant lunar lander bound for the Moon.

Each spacecraft requires about 1200 tons of liquid methane and liquid oxygen as propellants. These propellants must be kept in extremely low-temperature conditions below −150°C. Such large-scale “space refueling” has not been achieved in human history.

According to NASA’s latest disclosed Artemis mission architecture, Artemis 3 will be carried out in mid-2027, to test the docking of the Orion spacecraft and the lander being developed by SpaceX/Blue Origin.

If everything goes smoothly, scheduled as Artemis 4 and Artemis 5 in 2028, will attempt to send astronauts to the Moon.