SpaceX Eyes V3 Rocket With Raptor 3 Engines After Wrapping Starship V2 Tests

SpaceX fired up its 403-foot/124-meter Starship rocket for the 11th time on October 13, 2025. The Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage went back to Earth in the ocean, confirming that the suborbital flight was a success. This mission, the final flight of the Version 2 design, proved Starship's growing reliability and reusability. According to SpaceX, they are moving on to the next generation of Starships, as this flight was the last one for the Version 2 design of the vehicle.

Starship V3: Bigger and Bolder

According to SpaceX, the next Starship (Version 3) will be a bit taller and powered by new Raptor 3 engines for extra thrust. It will include new docking adapters so two Starships can link up in orbit and transfer fuel.

The Super Heavy booster is redesigned: it has a new fuel line and an “integrated hot stage” for smoother staging. It will use just three giant grid fins (50% larger than before) to guide its descent, and SpaceX is upgrading the launch tower's arms to catch both stages as they return.

Mars and Moon Missions Ahead

A small fleet of uncrewed Starships could launch toward Mars during the next favourable window, which is late 2026, according to CEO Elon Musk. An even larger Starship V4, with 42 Raptors and a height of about 466 feet, is also planned by SpaceX and is anticipated in 2027. On board Orion, astronauts will travel to lunar orbit as part of NASA's Artemis III Moon mission.

From there, they will board a SpaceX Starship human landing system to descend to the moon. A Starship upper stage will serve as the lunar lander for NASA's Artemis III.