NASA Directly Tested new Solution on Starship Booster V3 after Landing Failed! HLS Demo Schedule...

Returning humans to the moon, that's one of the biggest goals SpaceX has set for Starship over the next few years, and it's definitely not something they'll attempt without extensive preparation. That's why both SpaceX and NASA are ramping up development. A new Super Heavy Booster test, supported by NASA, has just been announced. On top of that, we now have a better idea of when Starship's uncrewed lunar landing demonstration could take place. There's a lot to unpack, so let's dive into it on today's episode of Great SpaceX. We're now well into the second half of 2026. That means the countdown is officially underway for some of Starship's biggest milestones yet. Orbital refueling, docking demonstrations, and ultimately, returning astronauts to the moon. For SpaceX, the clock is ticking. The company has entered a critical phase of development, and the pace is only accelerating. If you don't want to miss the latest Starship updates and the biggest stories across the aerospace industry, be sure to subscribe. The next few years could completely reshape the future of spaceflight. Now, let's begin with one of the most interesting recent developments, a new Super Heavy test involving NASA. Normally, when we hear about Starship testing, we immediately think of SpaceX. After all, they're the company designing, building, and flying the vehicle. This time, however, NASA is playing a direct role. At first glance, you might assume the testing is focused on Starship's human landing system. Surprisingly, it isn't. Instead, NASA is helping evaluate the standard Super Heavy booster. The agency recently announced on social media, NASA and its partners are preparing for Artemis 3 by completing new wind tunnel tests on SpaceX's Super Heavy V3 rocket booster. The tests at NASA Ames Research Center focused on better understanding what the rocket will experience during re-entry. NASA later provided additional details explaining that the test is designed to better understand the extreme aerodynamic forces the rocket can experience during re-entry. In other words, engineers are studying exactly what Super Heavy experiences as it descends back through Earth's atmosphere before returning to the launch site. The campaign uses a version 3 booster model built at roughly 1.2% scale. That model is tested on multiple wind tunnels covering a broad range of flight conditions. One tunnel simulates airflow from approximately Mach 0.2 to Mach 1.4. Another supersonic facility operates between Mach 1.55 and Mach 2.5. Together, these tests allow engineers to evaluate how the upgraded booster behaves throughout some of the most demanding phases of atmospheric flight. NASA also emphasized that the effort highlights the close partnership between the agency and SpaceX under the Artemis program. The agency explained, the upgraded Super Heavy rocket booster is part of SpaceX's Starship launch system. Version 3 of Starship and Super Heavy is expected to be the basis for the Starship HLS for Artemis 3 in 2027 and a later crewed lunar landing in 2028. NASA added, although Starship HLS is a lunar lander designed and built by SpaceX, NASA collaborates with commercial companies to provide access to specialized testing facilities like the wind tunnels at NASA Ames and technical expertise such as the team that set up the wind tunnel testing and helped analyze the results. That's one of NASA's greatest strengths. After decades of developing world-class research facilities, the agency can provide commercial partners with testing capabilities that are difficult to replicate elsewhere. Even though SpaceX builds Starship, NASA's experience and infrastructure continue to play an important supporting role. NASA also highlighted several of the major upgrades planned for Super Heavy version 3. These include improvements to the propulsion system, the introduction of Raptor 3 engines, and the removal of the large engine skirt used on previous versions. In its place, individual engine shrouds provide more efficient protection for each engine, while the integrated base heat shield has also been redesigned. Another noticeable change is the grid fin configuration. Version 3 uses three grid fins instead of four. However, each fin is roughly 50 percent larger, allowing the booster to maintain the necessary control authority while simplifying the overall design. NASA also pointed to the redesigned hot stage section. Instead of relying on a disposable protective interstage, the upgraded booster incorporates an integrated hot staging system designed for repeated reuse. Ultimately, NASA and SpaceX hope to gather more information about the steady and unsteady aerodynamic forces the rocket will experience during atmospheric re-entry as it returns to the launch site for refurbishment and reuse. That's an exciting objective. These wind tunnel tests could reveal characteristics of version 3 long before they're observed during flight. More importantly, they could help address some of the remaining challenges SpaceX still faces. Recent Starship missions have demonstrated tremendous progress, but Super Heavy isn't perfect yet. Engine startup issues have delayed launches, some flights have experienced engine anomalies, and while booster recoveries have been remarkably successful, there's still room for improvement before the system reaches the level of reliability SpaceX ultimately wants. For Artemis, reliability isn't just an advantage. It's a requirement. NASA needs confidence that every system will perform exactly as intended. That's why these wind tunnel tests matter. They're not simply academic research. They're helping pave the way for future missions to the moon. And it'll be fascinating to see what improvements emerge from this growing NASA-SpaceX partnership. Now let's move on to another major milestone on Starship's roadmap, the uncrewed human landing system demonstration. When the Artemis schedule looked different, SpaceX hoped to fly in late 2026, with Artemis 3 landing astronauts on the moon in 2027. Since then, those timelines have slipped, raising one question. What happens to the demonstration mission? A recent Government Accountability Office report appears to have the answer. NASA and SpaceX are now targeting approximately February of 2028 for the uncrewed The revised schedule gives SpaceX more time to mature Starship through orbital refueling, docking, and additional orbital flights before attempting a lunar landing. NASA has also indicated that the HLS program's initial focus is proving rendezvous and docking with Orion before shifting to crewed lunar landings. That means the demonstration vehicle will likely share most of the crewed version's core systems, with the emphasis on mission-critical hardware rather than crew accommodations. That includes the propulsion system, landing engines, reaction control thrusters, landing legs, power generation, solar arrays, the crew elevator, and of course, orbital refueling. Successfully demonstrating those systems would be a major step toward operational lunar missions. Expectations are high. Recent lunar missions have shown how difficult landing on the moon remains. Some spacecraft never arrived, others failed shortly after landing, while only a handful completed their objectives. Starship presents an even greater challenge. It's far larger, much heavier, and stands like a skyscraper on landing legs. Can it land with the required precision? Can it remain stable on the lunar surface? Can it operate safely in the harsh lunar environment? Those are exactly the questions this mission is designed to answer before astronauts ever step aboard. So, what do you think? Are you excited to watch Starship attempt its first landing on the moon? Let me know in the comments with a simple yes or no. Of course, choosing early 2028 has both advantages and disadvantages. On the positive side, the revised schedule gives SpaceX something incredibly valuable. Time. More time to build hardware. More time to complete testing. More time to refine Starship's core capabilities. Orbital refueling, docking, rapid reusability, and precision landings all benefit from the extra development time. SpaceX can also apply lessons learned from earlier Artemis missions before attempting its own demonstration. That's a significant advantage. However, the longer timeline also brings new challenges. NASA hopes to conduct multiple lunar missions in 2028, though how responsibilities will be divided between SpaceX and Blue Origin remains unclear. Supporting multiple Artemis missions while preparing an HLS demonstration would place enormous demands on launch pads, production facilities, tanker flights, recovery ships, and ground crews. The bigger question is whether Starship will be ready. A year and a half sounds like plenty of time, but major milestones remain. Starship V3 must continue proving itself. Super-heavy reliability must improve. The upper stage must routinely reach orbit. Payload deployment must become routine. SpaceX must demonstrate reliable mechazilla catches. And then comes perhaps the biggest challenge, orbital refueling. Whether through tanker flights or a dedicated propellant depot, both approaches will require numerous successful launches and extensive testing before becoming operational. Meanwhile, development of the HLS variant must continue. Although it shares Starship's core architecture, the lunar version includes specialized hardware for moon missions. Accomplishing all of that before supporting multiple Artemis missions is an extraordinarily ambitious schedule. So the question is, do you think SpaceX can pull it off? You may have noticed that I haven't spent much time talking about S40's landing. That's intentional, because in many ways, it all leads to the moon. Every successful Starship landing on Earth helps prepare it for landing on the lunar surface. Today's ocean splashdowns and eventually mechazilla catches aren't just about rapid reusability. They're also teaching SpaceX how to precisely control an enormous spacecraft during the most critical phase of flight. Just look at Flight 13. The Super Heavy booster completed ascent, separated cleanly, executed its flip maneuver, and returned without repeating the Raptor engine damage seen on Flight 12. S40 reached several major milestones as well. It overcame earlier engine issues, deployed the first batch of simulated V3 Starlink satellites, restarted its engines in orbit, survived re-entry with a significantly improved heat shield, maintained excellent control during descent, and, most importantly, completed splashdown without exploding. Instead, it remained afloat, giving SpaceX its first opportunity to recover and study a largely intact Starship. Every one of those achievements benefits Starship HLS. The landing sequence demonstrated precise engine ignition, controlled deceleration, accurate navigation, in-space engine relight capability, and a stable vertical touchdown. Of course, the moon has no atmosphere, making powered descent even more critical. But mastering precision landings on Earth builds confidence in the systems that matter most, reliable engines, stable guidance, and responsive flight computers. Flight 13 also showed there's still work to do. A last-minute Raptor startup issue delayed launch, highlighting that reliability still needs improvement. On a lunar mission where launch windows are tightly constrained, such delays would carry far greater consequences. Engine reliability, heat shield development, max-q performance, and guidance software will all continue improving with every flight. That's why every Starship mission matters. Every success builds confidence. Every challenge delivers data. Every flight brings SpaceX one step closer to the moon. Flight 13 wasn't just another test. It became one of Starship's most important stepping stones toward Artemis, and its lessons could help shape humanity's first uncrewed Starship landing on the moon. And that's it for today's episode. If you enjoyed it, don't forget to leave a like, subscribe to GreatSpaceX, and ring the notification bell so you never miss the latest updates on Starship, SpaceX, and humanity's exciting journey into the future of space exploration. Thanks for watching, and we'll see you in the next one.