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Race to the moon gains a new rhythm with Starship Flight 12 in final checks and Blue Origin relaunching the New Glenn booster in about 157 days, while the Blue Moon lander enters the plan to reach the moon.
The race to the moon has gained a new rhythm in recent days: Starship Flight 12 is getting closer to launch, with both stages already approved in static tests and now undergoing final pre-flight checks. At the same time, Blue Origin achieved a milestone that changes the tone of the competition by relaunching a New Glenn booster in a short interval and signaling that it wants to shorten the path to the moon with maximum pressure.
The contrast is clear. On one side, SpaceX is refining details that may seem small but say a lot about technical maturity, such as the controlled way to shut down 33 engines without stressing the structure. On the other side, Blue Origin shows that the “step by step” phase is giving way to a more aggressive behavior, with plans that connect rocket, lander, and even resource production to sustain operations on the moon.
Starship Flight 12 enters the final checks phase
Starship Flight 12 approaches with a strong signal: both stages have passed static tests and returned to the production line for final inspections. The Ship 29 performed a full 60-second static test in Masseys, while Booster 19 conducted a test of about six seconds on pad 2 with 33 Raptor 3 engines.
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One detail caught attention on Booster 19: the engine shutdown does not seem to occur all at once. The sequence indicates a staged thrust cut, which makes sense to reduce pressure spikes and stress on plumbing, thrust structure, and fuselage. When engineering starts to “choreograph” the shutdown, it is because it is trying to eliminate risk at the finest level, and this is often an important message before a critical mission.
Subsequently, Booster 19 was lifted by the chopsticks, displaying a clear view of the base with the 33 engines, with no visible signs of damage or displacements. Afterwards, it returned to the production complex and entered pre-flight inspection.
Signs indicating when the flight window will open
What to observe now, according to the reading presented at the base, is simple and practical. One sign is the movement of tanker trucks refueling propellant reserves, as this usually indicates real preparation for a launch attempt. Another sign is any posting with specific timing, even though the timeline may slip.
There is also an operational indicator that often anticipates steps: road closures related to tests and movements in the area. And amidst this, came a straightforward phrase attributed to Elon Musk: the Starship V3, booster, and ship would be ready for the first test flight in “a few weeks.” This type of statement usually does not misrepresent the state of the hardware, but it can miss the exact date, which keeps the moon as a target, but without promising a timeline.
A mystery in McGregor pointing to the moon
While eyes are on pad 2, a riddle has emerged in McGregor, a traditional propulsion testing site. A large white structure, resembling a tent, has appeared, described as tall and long, with dimensions that would remind one of a Starship upper stage. On a recent night, it was venting white steam, typical of operations with boiling cryogenic liquids.
The reading presented at the base makes it clear that the guess is speculative: it could be a new test arrangement related to propulsion and possibly lunar landing hardware. The cited hypothesis is a testing environment for HLS thrusters, the Starship variant of the Artemis program, which needs landing thrusters positioned higher up to reduce the dust kicked up during descent on the moon.
The central point is not to pin down what it is, but to realize that something is being hidden that involves cryogenics, height, and propulsion, a combination that tends to appear when the conversation turns to lunar landing.
Blue Origin relaunches the New Glenn booster and changes the tone of the race to the moon
In the early hours of Sunday, the New Glenn took off again with an important milestone: it was the first time a launch of the rocket used a booster that had already flown. The booster in question had gone to space in November 2025, landed on the drone ship, and now successfully flew again.
The cited interval for this return was about 157 days, a number that draws attention because it puts psychological pressure on the reuse competition. It’s not just about flying; it’s about returning and flying again before the competitor can “breathe”.
However, there is a technical asterisk that appears at the base itself: Blue Origin removed the seven BE4 engines from the returned booster and installed new units, including to test upgrades, such as a new thermal protection system on a nozzle. The justification also comes from the base: the BE4 is powerful and still young in operation, with a shorter flight history, so the strategy is to be conservative, fly the structure, study the recovered engines, and only then put them back on future missions.
Even so, the message is clear: Blue Origin wants to reach the moon fiercely, even if it means taking shortcuts where possible.
The moon as a destination: Blue Moon Mark 1, Mark 2, and the shortcut without orbital refueling
The most straightforward part of the lunar plan appears in the lander. The Blue Moon Mark 1, with the first flight model nicknamed Endurance, is described as a large robotic lander, just over 8 meters tall, about 3 meters wide, and approximately 21 tons fueled.
It uses a BE7 engine with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and would have the capacity to deliver 3,000 kg of payload anywhere on the moon, landing about 100 meters from the target.
The Endurance completed thermal vacuum tests in early April, in a high chamber, with cycles that simulate lunar surface conditions, and is now heading to Florida for final integration. This type of test is not a showcase; it is controlled hardware torture, and going through it elevates the project’s readiness to a new level.
The foundation also connects this to the HLS challenge: before taking astronauts to the moon, SpaceX needs to demonstrate orbital refueling, something essential for the HLS architecture. The Mark 1 is described as a single-launch architecture, without a fleet of tanks and without a tight flight sequence, which could become an advantage if schedules tighten.
Additionally, a glimpse of a Mark 2 mockup appeared in the factory, and the idea of an intermediate version, informally called Mark 1.5, was suggested, which could maintain a similar size to the Mark 1 but with the capacity to carry crew, reducing the dependence on orbital refueling for a crewed mission to the moon. It is a scenario presented as a possibility, but it exists for a reason: if someone lands operational hardware on the moon first, the debate changes.
Lunar Regolith Oxygen: The Plan That Promises to Make the Moon Cheaper, with Reservations
Blue Origin also showcased a compact refinery concept, called Air Pioneer, to extract oxygen from lunar regolith. The described idea is to heat the material to about 1,600 degrees Celsius to make it conductive and then use electric current to separate oxygen from the minerals, generating breathable oxygen and leaving byproducts like iron, aluminum, and silicon.
The impact argument is straightforward: lunar regolith would contain about 40% to 45% oxygen by mass, and producing oxygen locally could reduce landing costs on the moon by up to 60%, because oxygen is also the oxidizer for fuel, and you wouldn’t need to transport as much material from Earth.
The reservations are also foundational: the system would have been tested on simulant, not on real regolith, there are no published production numbers, and a demonstration in a terrestrial environment simulating lunar vacuum is planned for this year. The promise is great, but the metrics have not yet appeared, and that is what will separate concept from real capability.
What Changes in the Race to the Moon from Here
The difference in cadence remains enormous. The foundation cites that SpaceX flew 165 rockets last year, while Blue Origin has only three flights of the New Glenn.
However, the psychological landscape has changed: Blue Origin now appears as the second company to reuse an orbital booster, has a large lunar lander almost ready, and is showcasing a package of ideas that points to permanence, not just visits, on the moon.
In the end, the center of the dispute shifts from “who launches more” to “who can place the right piece in the right place.” Because, in the race to the moon, what matters is not the rocket itself, but what touches and works on the surface.
In your opinion, who arrives with strength first to the moon: the Starship with Flight 12 paving the way or Blue Origin accelerating with New Glenn and Blue Moon?
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