SpaceX readies Super Heavy Booster 19 (V3) for testing

SpaceX has shared an update on Super Heavy Booster 19 as it has completed the stack of its entire assembly, and soon it will rollout at Massey’s site for prelaunch testing. The company also posted an image of the Super Heavy booster inside the Mega bay.

On November 20, SpaceX rollout out Booster 18 for prelaunch testing. This was the first Super Heavy V3 with redesigned propellant systems and improved design and structure.

Source – SpaceX

However, the Booster 18 suffered an anomaly during gas system pressure testing, which SpaceX was conducting in advance of structural proof testing. These preliminary test uses inert gases to pressurize the booster’s subsystems, including propellant tanks, plumbing, valves, and Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPVs).

This approach doesn’t require cryogenic liquids or actual propellants inside the tanks, minimizing the risk of explosion. It verifies leak-proofing, valve operations, and ensures basic pressureization integrity at lower risk.

SpaceX confirmed that the booster had no engines, which is an unusual practice for testing a newly designed rocket. Fortunately, no one was injured when the anomaly occurred as teams maintained a safe distance.

Post-anomaly pictures show that the Booster 18’s tank system was blown out and its debris was scattered on the ground. One of the best things about this test was that the site remained unharmed, which was destroyed during Flight 10’s full-scale explosion.

The ground team started cleaning the site and preparing for the next round of testing, which may have already been completed. It took around 30 days for the engineers to combine booster 19 into one piece and ready for transportation.

By the time of this anomaly, SpaceX forecasted that the Super Heavy booster 19 would be stacked in December, and this target has now been achieved. In the meantime, the Starship Flight Test 12 is targeted for the first quarter of 2026. However, that would require all pre-launch tests to go in the right direction.