Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
This week at Starbase Block 3 vehicle testing continues at the Massey Outpost, reconfiguration work continues at Pad 1 and the final major component, the extension for the Ship Quick Disconnect arm, is installed on the tower at Pad 2. Meanwhile, in other space news, Crew-11 will be making an early return from the ISS due to an undisclosed medical situation, SpainSat NG-II is struck by a "space particle" and SpaceX launches its first two Starlink missions of 2026.
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This week at Starbase Block 3 vehicle testing continues at the Massey Outpost, reconfiguration work continues at Pad 1 and the final major component, the extension for the Ship Quick Disconnect arm, is installed on the tower at Pad 2. Meanwhile, in other space news, Crew-11 will be making an early return from the ISS due to an undisclosed medical situation, SpainSat NG-II is struck by a "space particle" and SpaceX launches its first two Starlink missions of 2026.
Thanks for watching this week's Avid Space Update!
If you would like to get involved with our community or learn more about Rockets and Space, please feel free to join our Discord server at discord.gg/labpadre
Browse our online store!
avidspaceflight.com/shop
Support us on Patreon and get special perks!
patreon.com/labpadre
Patreon Royalty: Admiral Radish, Arthur Carty, Cassidy Scott, Eric Beavers, Marcus House, Stumpy, Peter Lehrack, What about it!?
Patreon Elite: Carl Fürstenberg, Colin Smith, Dave Willow (WX Dave), Dragon Drop, Eagle Eye Chuck, Eric Sowder, Grenadine, Matt Lowne, Matthew Bundy, Randall Davis, Robert Castle, Seth Count, Steve Roberts, Taniel, Unreal Patch, Wil Schweitzer
Special thanks to:
Audio/Video Editors: Lucid
Videography: Avid Space, others (credited)
Clip Capture Bot: Arc, azatht
Clip Reporting: 61Naps, DaOPCreeper, Kalim, MLGPure, Vix
Script Editors: 61Naps, apempathy, WLAnimal
Script Writers: RotoSequence, WLAnimal
Images may not be used without written consent from Avid Media or their rightful owner.
![[Scrubbed] Watch Starship Flight 12 Live - Commentary](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/s-sghGA6cdc/mqdefault.jpg "[Scrubbed] Watch Starship Flight 12 Live - Commentary
12th test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle. Maiden Flight of Starship V3.
The flight test’s primary goal will be to demonstrate each of these new pieces in the flight environment for the first time, with each element of the Starship architecture featuring significant redesigns to enable full and rapid reuse that incorporate learnings from years of development and test.
The Starship upper stage will target multiple in-space and reentry objectives, including a payload deployment of 20 Starlink simulators, similar in size to next-generation Starlink V3 satellites, and two specially modified Starlink satellites. The two modified satellites will test hardware planned for Starlink V3 and will attempt to scan Starship’s heat shield and transmit imagery down to operators to test methods of analyzing Starship’s heat shield readiness for return to launch site on future missions. Several tiles on Starship have been painted white to simulate missing tiles and serve as imaging targets in the test. The Starlink simulators will be on the same suborbital trajectory as Starship. A relight of a single Raptor engine while in space is also planned.
For Starship entry, a single heat shield tile has been intentionally removed to measure the aerodynamic load differences on adjacent tiles when there is a tile missing. Finally, the ship will perform experimental actions tested on previous flight tests, including a maneuver to intentionally stress the structural limits of the vehicle’s rear flaps and a dynamic banking maneuver to mimic the trajectory that future missions returning to Starbase will fly.")
