SpaceX is looking to conduct the first test of its Starship rocket in mid-March

The delayed first test of the SpaceX-developed Starship rocket is now scheduled for mid-March, according to the SpaceX website. job From CEO Elon Musk on his social media site X.

This third version of Starship, or V3, is bigger and more powerful. More importantly, the company plans to use Starship V3 to launch the next generation of Starlink satellites, which will be able to provide faster data speeds but weigh more and more. It is also the first version of the rocket intended to dock with other spacecraft in Earth orbit, a capability the company needs to reach the Moon or Mars.

It all comes together like SpaceX The race is toward an IPO later this yearUnder pressure from the Trump administration to return American astronauts to the surface of the moon before the end of his second term. Starship, the most powerful rocket ever developed, is currently a key part of NASA’s mission to achieve this goal.

SpaceX had been making progress toward launching Starship V3 in late 2025. But in November, the booster stage suffered an explosion during testing of that rocket. He blew up an entire side of the steel missile. The company said it was conducting a “gas system pressure test” when the explosion occurred, but has not yet provided more detailed details on what went wrong.

The company was hoping to move on from Starship 2, which… It was a mixed bag. It was able to successfully reach orbit with Starship V2, deploy dummy versions of next-generation Starlink satellites, and capture multiple booster stages after returning to the launch pad.

But Starship V2 has also suffered a number of blowouts and setbacks. Some of it came as a result of SpaceX’s development approach, which involves pushing test vehicles to — or exceeding — the limit and then iterating based on what the company learns. Other instances were unexpected, such as when one of the Starships on top of the booster pad exploded in a massive fireball during… Ground tests last June.

SpaceX has come to dominate the global launch market over the past decade, and it is counting on Starship to maintain that dominance. But competition creeps in around the edges. Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin launched its first massive rocket, known as New Glenn, for the first time in January 2025 and Back in November. The company launched its inaugural commercial payload for NASA on that second flight and also completed the first landing of the booster stage.

Blue Origin is planning a third launch for New Glenn In late February It hopes to send its own lunar lander to the Moon sometime after that. While New Glenn is smaller than Starship, Blue Origin revealed late last year Working on developing a larger version For a vehicle that competes directly with SpaceX’s super-heavy rocket.