NASA, SpaceX test Super Heavy V3 in wind tunnels for Artemis III

NASA and SpaceX completed new wind tunnel tests on a 1.2% scale model of the Super Heavy Version 3 rocket booster at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, the agency reported on July 31, 2026. The tests focused on measuring steady and unsteady aerodynamic forces the rocket will experience during atmospheric re-entry.

The Super Heavy Version 3 is part of SpaceX’s Starship launch system and is expected to serve as the basis for the Starship Human Landing System (HLS) for the Artemis III mission in 2027 and a later crewed lunar landing in 2028. The testing builds on earlier work completed at NASA Ames in 2024 and supports NASA’s collaboration with SpaceX to safely carry astronauts from lunar orbit to the Moon’s surface and back.

Understanding these aerodynamic forces is critical because the upgraded booster incorporates significant changes, including new Raptor 3 engines, no engine section skirt, three gridfins that are 50% larger instead of four, and an integrated hot stage. According to Manish Mehta, discipline lead engineer for the HLS Plume and Aero Environments team at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the agency applied its experience from wind tunnel tests for the space shuttle, SLS rocket, and Orion spacecraft to efficiently set up and analyze the Super Heavy tests.

The wind tunnel tests, conducted in late 2025, used the transonic wind tunnel at speeds from Mach 0.2 to Mach 1.4 and the supersonic wind tunnel at speeds from Mach 1.55 to Mach 2.5. Jayanta Panda, unsteady aerodynamics subject matter expert at NASA Ames, explained that steady forces occur when air flows smoothly over the rocket, while unsteady forces involve buffeting that can cause vibrations. The resulting data on steady forces helps predict how the rocket will react during re-entry so flight software can guide it effectively, and unsteady pressure data informs load analysis.

NASA and SpaceX engineers used the 1.2% scale model to gather information on both steady and unsteady air flows on the booster’s surfaces. Mehta noted that similar testing at the Ames Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel previously led to adding strakes to the SLS for Artemis II, and lessons from that work are now aiding Artemis III and beyond. The collaboration provides SpaceX access to specialized facilities and technical expertise as the company develops the lunar lander.

Through the Artemis program, NASA aims to return humans to the Moon for scientific discovery, economic opportunity, and to establish a sustained presence, while laying the groundwork for future crewed missions to Mars. The wind tunnel data will be used to refine the Super Heavy Version 3 design and flight software ahead of the Artemis III demonstration mission.