During a full‑power deluge‑system test on May 3 2026, a protective roof cover on one of Pad 2’s new methane‑oxygen gas generators blew off, sending a large black metal plate skyward. The incident was traced to an over‑pressurisation of the gas‑generator/turbo‑pump during the test; the cover was the only visible damage and the system will be repaired and re‑qualified before flight.
Despite the hiccup, SpaceX is pressing ahead with Starship Flight 12 – the inaugural Block 3 mission. Booster 19 will fly 33 new Raptor 3 engines (≈9,240 t thrust) and Ship 39 will carry six Raptor 3s with an upgraded heat shield. The launch will be suborbital, splashing down in the Indian Ocean, but will use a steeper southern trajectory (≈30° inclination) that threads between the Yucatán Peninsula, Cuba, the Caymans, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The FAA has reserved a launch window no earlier than 17:30 CDT on 12 May 2026 (≈20‑60 min window), pending final confirmation.
Parallel work continues: Ship 40 is undergoing cryogenic proof tests with a thrust‑simulator stand, while Ship 41 is already in the stacking phase for Flight 14, underscoring a rapid production cadence. Meanwhile, Russia’s new Soyuz‑5 (Suncar) completed a successful suborbital test flight on 30 April 2026, demonstrating a fully Russian‑designed medium‑lift capability for future satellite constellations. Together, these events show Starship moving toward high‑rate reusability and international launch activity accelerating.
1. During a full‑power deluge test on May 3, 2026, a large black metal plate (the roof cover of a gas generator) was ejected from the pad.
2. The deluge system on Pad 2 uses methyloxs gas generators (miniature rocket‑engine cores) instead of high‑pressure nitrogen tanks.
3. Pad 2 has three gas generators: a large one for the flame deflector, a small one for the top‑deck pancake, and a medium one for the launch mount.
4. One of these gas generators experienced an anomaly during the May 3 test, causing over‑pressurization that blew off its protective cover.
5. The deluge system burns methane and liquid oxygen to spin a turbo‑pump, generating nitrogen pressure that blasts water at ~10 × the flow rate of the old system.
6. Pad 2’s deluge system must be significantly more powerful than Pad 1’s to support the high‑cadence future of Block 3 vehicles.
7. The May 3 test was run at full load to verify whether previous pressure‑sensor issues in the deluge manifold had been resolved.
8. This was the first time a gas generator on Pad 2 failed in this manner during a full deluge test.
9. SpaceX will need to replace the affected gas generator and reinstall its roof cover, then run verification tests on all three generators and the deluge system.
10. Booster 19 for Flight 12 is powered by 33 brand‑new Raptor 3 engines, delivering up to ~9,240 tons of thrust.
11. Ship 39 carries six Raptor 3 engines and features an improved heat shield.
12. Flight 12 will be the first Starship launch from Pad 2, the second orbital launch pad at Starbase, Texas.
13. Flight 12 is a suborbital mission with a refined trajectory: ~30° inclination, a southern corridor between Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, splashing down in the Indian Ocean.
14. FAA documentation shows Flight 12’s net no‑earlier‑than time is 17:30 CDT on Tuesday, May 12, 2026.
15. The launch window for Flight 12 is expected to be 20–60 minutes, with some sources citing a window from 16:30 to 18:43 CDT.
16. Flight 12 is the inaugural flight of Starship Version 3, Block 3.
17. Ship 40 was rolled out on the evening of May 3, 2026 for cryogenic proof testing; it is the first V3 vehicle using the new thrust‑simulator stand at Massiey’s.
18. Ship 41 entered the stacking phase in late April 2026 and is expected to fly on Flight 14, possibly a few months after Flight 12 and 1–2 months behind Flight 13.
19. On April 30, 2026, Russia’s Soyuz 5 (also called Suncar) completed its first test flight from Baikonur Cosmodrome, a suborbital mission with a dummy payload that splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.
20. Soyuz 5 uses an RD‑171MV engine on the first stage and an RD‑0124MS engine on the second stage.
21. Soyuz 5 can deliver about 17 tons to low Earth orbit and will support commercial satellite launches, scientific missions, and future satellite constellations.