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(VIDEO) SpaceX’s Dramatic Water Deluge Test Goes Viral Ahead of Starship Flight 12 Launch in March
A spectacular high-pressure water eruption at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas has captured widespread attention online, with videos of the massive “water blast” racking up millions of views as the company prepares for its 12th Starship test flight.
The footage, shared widely on social media platforms including X and captured by local observers and NASASpaceflight livestreams, shows thousands of gallons of water surging upward from beneath Orbital Launch Pad 2 in a towering plume that resembles an explosion or rocket mishap. Posted around Feb. 16, 2026, the clips quickly went viral, prompting initial speculation of an accident at the Boca Chica site.
SpaceX conducted the test as a full-duration verification of its upgraded water deluge system — a critical safety feature designed to protect the launch pad, surrounding infrastructure and the rocket itself from the intense heat, acoustic shockwaves and flame produced by the Super Heavy booster’s 33 Raptor 3 engines during liftoff.
The system, which sprays water at extreme pressure through a network of nozzles and a water-cooled steel plate beneath the launch mount, mitigates damage that plagued earlier flights. Initial versions of the deluge were implemented after Flight 1 in 2023 severely cratered the pad. Upgrades for Block 3 vehicles — debuting on Flight 12 — include enhanced flow rates and distribution to handle the increased thrust and acoustic energy of the latest Raptor 3 engines.
Videos from the test show the deluge activating for its planned duration, creating dense clouds of water vapor and spray that enveloped the pad area. Commentators on X praised the performance, with one user noting, “WOW! Starbase Pad 2 water deluge is something else! 33 Raptor 3 engines, no problem, I’m saying!” The successful run bolsters confidence ahead of Flight 12, which will mark the first orbital attempt with the Block 3 (V3) configuration of Starship and Super Heavy.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has targeted early March 2026 — potentially as soon as March 7 — for the launch, pending final integrations, static fire tests and regulatory approvals. Booster 19, the Super Heavy prototype assigned to Flight 12, recently completed multiple cryogenic proof tests without issues, addressing anomalies that led to the scrapping of its predecessor, Booster 18. Engine installation of the 33 Raptor 3s is progressing at Mega Bay 1, while Ship 39 undergoes preparations for stacking.
The test comes amid broader momentum for the Starship program. The Federal Aviation Administration recently finalized an environmental review allowing increased launch and landing activity at Starbase, clearing the path for a higher flight cadence in 2026. SpaceX aims to demonstrate key milestones with Flight 12, including improved engine reliability, heat shield performance during reentry and potential in-orbit capabilities paving the way for future refueling demonstrations, lunar missions under NASA’s Artemis program and eventual Mars exploration.
No payload has been announced for Flight 12, consistent with recent integrated flight tests focused on vehicle validation rather than operational missions. The flight profile is expected to mirror recent successes: liftoff from Starbase, booster catch attempt using the Mechazilla tower arms, and Ship achieving orbital velocity before a targeted splashdown in the Indian Ocean or Pacific.
Observers note that the viral water test underscores SpaceX’s iterative approach — rapid testing to refine systems before committing to flight. While some early speculation misinterpreted the footage as a failure, experts emphasized its positive implications for pad longevity and environmental protection during high-thrust launches.
SpaceX has not issued an official statement on the test beyond community updates, but the event aligns with preparations for an aggressive 2026 schedule that could see multiple Starship flights if milestones continue to be met. As regulatory reviews and vehicle integrations advance, attention now shifts to static fire testing of Booster 19 and potential stacking with Ship 39 in the coming weeks.
I have previously written articles for The Motley Fool, TheStreet, and AOLs BloggingStocks.I also write fiction. I have stories published at Nikki Finke’s Hollywood Dementia site, including “The Streaming Service,” “The Screenwriterman,” “Mygalomorph” and “Spielberg’s Last Film.”Here is a link to my YA book, “Abner Wilcox Thornberry and The Witch of Wall Street.”This is a collection of short horror stories: Tales From Salem, Mass.
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UK inflation slowed more sharply than many had feared in January, falling to 3 per cent and bolstering expectations that the Bank of England could resume cutting interest rates as early as next month.
Data from the Office for National Statistics showed consumer price index (CPI) inflation eased from 3.4 per cent in December to 3 per cent in January, the lowest annual rate since March 2025. The reading was in line with analysts’ forecasts.
The decline was driven by lower airfares, falling petrol prices and easing food costs. Food inflation slowed to 3.6 per cent year-on-year, down from 4.5 per cent in December and its lowest level since last April. Services inflation edged down to 4.4 per cent from 4.5 per cent, while core inflation, which strips out volatile elements such as energy and food, fell to 3.1 per cent.
However, higher prices for hotel stays and takeaway food partly offset the broader slowdown.
Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the ONS, said: “Inflation fell markedly in January, driven in part by a drop in petrol prices and airfares following December’s increases. Lower food prices also contributed, particularly for bread, cereals and meat.”
The easing in price pressures comes amid signs of weakness in the labour market. Earlier this week, figures showed unemployment had climbed to 5.2 per cent, its highest level in five years, while youth joblessness reached a decade high.
Taken together, softer inflation, rising unemployment and sluggish growth have increased market expectations of a rate cut when policymakers meet on 19 March. Financial markets are now pricing in a strong likelihood that rates will be reduced from 3.75 per cent to 3.5 per cent. The Bank lowered rates four times in 2025.
Rachel Reeves said cutting the cost of living remained her “number one priority”, pointing to measures in the November budget such as energy bill adjustments and the first rail fare freeze in 30 years as helping to ease pressure on households.
At its most recent meeting, the Bank’s monetary policy committee voted narrowly, by 5-4, to hold rates steady. Governor Andrew Bailey indicated there was scope for further easing this year if inflation continued to moderate.
Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said the latest figures “pave the path for a March rate cut” and suggested there could be up to three reductions over the course of 2026.
Markets reacted modestly. Sterling dipped 0.06 per cent against the dollar to $1.35, while the yield on the ten-year UK government bond fell to 4.38 per cent, its lowest level in around a month.
With inflation edging closer to the Bank’s 2 per cent target and economic momentum slowing, attention will now turn to whether policymakers judge the cooling trend sufficiently durable to justify renewed monetary easing.
Amy Ingham
Amy is a newly qualified journalist specialising in business journalism at Business Matters with responsibility for news content for what is now the UK’s largest print and online source of current business news.
Berkshire bought 5.1 million shares of the New York Times during the December quarter, Warren Buffett’s last few months as chief executive.
It sold stock in Apple, marking the third-straight period it cut its stake in the iPhone maker.
Berkshire slashed its stake in Amazon by 77%.
It also unloaded shares of Bank of America.
Income surges 126% to nearly $80 million.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called for the state to increase taxes on corporations and the wealthy to help address city’s budget deficit Tuesday, warning that the alternative option will be for the city to raise property taxes.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is calling for the Empire State to hike taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals in order to address the Big Apple’s budget deficit, warning that the alternative would involve the city increasing property taxes and dipping into its reserves.
Mamdani has issued a preliminary fiscal year 2027 budget that involves a property tax hike, a prospect he has described as a “last resort.”
“Today, I’m releasing the City’s preliminary budget. After years of fiscal mismanagement, we’re staring at a $5.4 billion budget gap — and two paths. One: Albany can raise taxes on the ultra-wealthy and the most profitable corporations and address the fiscal imbalance between our city and state. The other, a last resort: balance the budget on the backs of working people using the only tools at the City’s disposal,” Mamdani noted in a Tuesday post on X.
FREE BUSES, REAL COSTS. INSIDE MAMDANI’S SOCIALIST DREAM TO SHAKEUP TRANSIT FOR NEW YORKERS
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani during a Bloomberg Television interview at City Hall in New York, on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The city council needs to green-light city budgets, according to the New York Times.
“As the mayor of New York City, I have a legal obligation to balance the budget. I will meet that obligation,” he said during remarks on Tuesday.
The sun sets on the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building in New York City on July 28, 2025, as seen from Bayonne, N.J. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images / Getty Images)
“Faced with no other choice, the city would have to exercise the only revenue lever fully within our own control. We would have to raise property taxes. We would also be forced to raid our reserves,” he said.
“This would effectively be a tax on working and middle class New Yorkers, who have a median income of $122,000,” said Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist who ran on a platform that promised to tackle rent costs.
HOUSE GOP LEADER RIPS ‘SOCIALIST’ ZOHRAN MAMDANI AFTER 18 PEOPLE FREEZE TO DEATH IN NYC
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani during an announcement on junk fees in the Susan and John Hess Family Theater at The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Mamdani said the “preliminary budget takes the only path within our control,” but added that the city will only go that route if there is no other way to achieve a balanced budget.
Bank of Hawaii stock hits 52-week high at 80.25 USD
Speaking after the company’s record results, Woodburn, who has run BAE since 2017, said: “In a new era of defence spending, driven by escalating security challenges, we’re well-positioned to provide both the advanced conventional systems and disruptive technologies needed to protect the nations we serve now and into the future.”
Lagarde’s possible early departure leaves investors pondering replacements
I am an individual investor, working at a global technology company. I have an academic background in engineering and business economics and am currently pursuing a PhD in economics. I started investing while attending university in 2012 and have a focus in technology-based growth stocks, particularly in the fields of renewable energy, hydrogen, new mobility and space. As I aim to identify growth stocks for a diversified portfolio early on, the companies I invest in are usually small or micro caps which are not covered by a lot of analysts and SA contributors. I will thus share my thoughts from time to time with articles if I feel there are interesting yet under-evaluated investment ideas to contribute. My investment style is long only and I invest to hold for the long-term. In my analyses, I focus on fundamental topics such as technology, business model and valuation relative to the addressed market.
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of UPST, PGY either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
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