From Joe Tegtmeyer.

Now that Starship Flight 12 is completed, how did the new V3 Booster performance compare to the older Flight 11 V2 Booster and did the redesign, higher TWR and flight path management really make a big difference?

I thought we would look at one aspect of the Booster design to help answer this question, specifically how well the new design reduces gravity losses during the launch to hot staging portion of flight.

Come along with me for a simplified aerodynamics & rocket engineering discussion and then do a direct performance comparison using video clips from the SpaceX live streams.

My intent is to help appreciate some of the effort the engineers have put into the new V3 booster and Raptor engine designs to increase the capabilities of the Starship system and greatly increase the payload to orbit potential of Starship.

Obviously there are many other considerations (it is rocket science), but I hope you find this helpful.