The world's biggest rocket: How SpaceX's new Starship 'V3' differs from its predecessors

You'll have to crane your neck just a little farther to look up at SpaceX's new Starship rocket. The company is gearing up for the planned May 19 debut launch of Version 3 (V3) of Starship , which has undergone a complete design overhaul since its last liftoff seven months ago. The first fully stacked Starship rocket, which flew the combined Super Heavy booster and Ship upper stage, launched in April 2023 . Three years and 10 additional test flights later, SpaceX has introduced Starship V3 — the culmination of successes, failures and lessons learned over those 11 launches. The rocket's new, refined design is more powerful, more resilient and more capable than its antecedent iterations, and a step closer to a fully reusable launch vehicle. Starship V3 will also launch from SpaceX's newest pad, the second the company has erected at its Starbase site in South Texas. The upgraded hardware is meant to mature Starship's design, moving the vehicle from test flights toward an operational architecture that can support the rapid reuse, high flight rates and orbital refueling necessary for missions like the ones Starship plans to fly for NASA's Artemis program , which will land astronauts on the moon . V3 stands about 5 feet (1.5 meters) taller than previous Starship builds and packs a much heavier punch. Both stages —Super Heavy and Ship — have been equipped with SpaceX's new Raptor 3 engine — sleeker, more powerful and more reliable upgrades over the previous Raptor 2. …