Starship V2 vs V3

Version 2 of the Starship upper stage flew on Flights 7 to 11, from January 16 to October 13, 2025. Flight 11 was the last flight of both the Version 2 ship and the first-generation Super Heavy booster.

Version 3, a new ship and a new booster, flew on Flights 12, 13 and 14 in 2026. Flight 15 is listed as the fourth Version 3 flight.

Source: Spaceflight Now

Version 3 flies on Raptor 3 engines: 33 on the booster and 6 on the ship. The engine looks much simpler than Raptor 2. Its sensors, controllers and most of its plumbing now sit inside the engine's own heat protection, so the protective shroud each engine used to need is gone.

SpaceX gives the sea-level Raptor 3 250 tonnes-force (551,000 lbf) of thrust, up from 230 tonnes-force for Raptor 2, and the vacuum version 275 tonnes-force, up from 258, as of May 2026.

Source: Spaceflight Now

The Version 3 Super Heavy has three grid fins, the steering paddles at the top, instead of four. Each is about 50% larger and stronger, and the fins now double as the points the tower's arms grab during a catch.

The ring between the stages is different too. Earlier boosters carried a separate hot-staging ring that was dropped after each flight; on Version 3 it is built into the top of the booster.

Source: Payload

The Version 3 ship adds docking adapters on the outside, so that two ships can meet in orbit and move propellant from one to the other. It also carries more propellant, and its power storage and avionics were upgraded. The aim is a ship that can lift about 100 tonnes to low Earth orbit and be reused, as of SpaceX's plans in March 2026.

Source: Payload

The full Version 3 stack, booster plus ship, stands 124.4 m (408 ft) tall and 9 m (30 ft) wide, about 1.3 m (4 ft) taller than Version 2, as of October 2026. It is the tallest rocket ever flown.

Source: Wikipedia

Flight 12 on May 22, 2026 was the Version 3 debut and the first launch from Pad 2 at Starbase; the ship splashed down in the Indian Ocean as planned. Flight 13 on July 24, 2026 released 20 working Starlink V3 satellites on a path that didn't reach orbit, and its booster was lost when its landing burn failed. Flight 14 in September 2026 reached orbit for the first time and released 26 Starlink V3 satellites; an engine shut down early on the way up, so SpaceX cut the flight short and brought the ship down in the Pacific.

Source: Wikipedia

Refilling in orbit is the step that turns Starship from a big rocket into a way to reach the Moon and Mars: a ship uses most of its propellant just getting to orbit, and has to top up before going further. NASA's plan to land astronauts on the Moon with Starship depends on it. Version 3 is the first version built to try it.