SpaceX Targets July 16 for Starship Flight 13 After FAA Clears Fixes

SpaceX confirmed a July 16 launch window for Starship Flight 13 after the FAA closed its Flight 12 mishap investigation and cleared corrective actions on both the Super Heavy booster and the Ship upper stage.

Key Takeaways

  • SpaceX is targeting July 16 for Starship Flight 13, with a 90-minute window opening at 6:45 p.m. EDT from Starbase, after the FAA closed its Flight 12 mishap investigation on July 13.
  • Flight 12 issues included a hot-staging orientation error, five of 33 Raptor 3 booster engines failing to relight during boostback, and the loss of a vacuum Raptor on the Ship 40 seconds after separation.
  • Fixes include a modified Ship startup sequence tolerant of timing variability, plus Booster 20 hardware changes, updated engine alarms and revised abort logic for engine relight reliability.
  • Flight 13 carries the first 20 functional Starlink V3 satellites, six with heat-shield inspection cameras; all will burn up on reentry about 20 minutes after deployment due to the suborbital trajectory.
  • A clean flight could set up the first V3 booster catch at Starbase on Flight 14, with orbital insertion, rendezvous and propellant transfer still needed before NASA's Artemis III lunar landing, penciled in for 2027.

SpaceX Targets July 16 for Starship Flight 13 After FAA Clears Fixes

SpaceX is now firmly targeting Thursday, July 16 for the 13th integrated flight test of Starship, with a 90-minute window opening at 6:45 p.m. EDT from the Starbase site in South Texas. The Federal Aviation Administration cleared the launch on July 13, closing its investigation into the mishaps of Flight 12 and signing off on the corrective actions SpaceX has folded into the vehicle.

What broke on Flight 12

Flight 12, the debut of the taller Version 3 Starship in May, was largely successful but flagged two problems SpaceX had to answer for. A sequence change in the Ship's engines during hot staging left the Super Heavy 90 degrees out of orientation, and five of the booster's 33 Raptor 3 engines failed to relight during the boostback burn, sending the stage past its planned Gulf of Mexico splashdown zone. On the Ship, one of the three vacuum-optimized Raptors was lost 40 seconds after stage separation, forcing SpaceX to skip an in-space engine relight test.

SpaceX Ship 40 static fire ahead of Starship Flight 13

SpaceX says a modified startup sequence for the Ship should tolerate more timing variability, and Booster 20 carries hardware changes to improve engine relight reliability along with updated engine alarms and abort logic that better match multi-engine flight conditions.

Starlink V3 gets its first ride

Flight 13 will carry the first 20 functional Starlink V3 satellites — the higher-capacity generation SpaceX plans to eventually deploy at up to 100,000 units. Six of those will carry inspection cameras aimed back at Starship's heat shield, extending the same tile-imaging campaign that Flight 12 introduced with Starlink mass simulators. All 20 satellites will burn up on reentry roughly 20 minutes after deployment because of Starship's suborbital trajectory.

What a clean flight would unlock

If Super Heavy nails a full boostback burn and soft Gulf splashdown and Ship completes its Raptor relight and Indian Ocean touchdown, SpaceX is expected to attempt the first V3 booster catch back at Starbase on Flight 14. The company still has orbital insertion, on-orbit rendezvous and cryogenic propellant transfer left to demonstrate before Starship can support NASA's Artemis III human lunar landing, currently penciled in for 2027. Recent activity around SpaceX has been relentless — from a Falcon 9 booster hitting its 600th flight to the earlier 33-engine static fire on Booster 20 that cleared the way for this launch.

Reporting based on coverage from Space.com, SpaceX and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Category: Aerospace

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Frequently Asked Questions

When and where will Starship Flight 13 launch?

SpaceX is targeting Thursday, July 16, with a 90-minute window opening at 6:45 p.m. EDT from the Starbase site in South Texas.

What went wrong on Starship Flight 12?

A Ship engine sequence change during hot staging left the Super Heavy 90 degrees out of orientation, five of the booster's 33 Raptor 3 engines failed to relight during boostback (sending it past its Gulf splashdown zone), and one of the Ship's three vacuum Raptors was lost 40 seconds after separation, forcing SpaceX to skip an in-space relight test.

What payload is Flight 13 carrying?

The first 20 functional Starlink V3 satellites, six of which carry cameras to inspect Starship's heat shield. All 20 will burn up on reentry roughly 20 minutes after deployment because of the suborbital trajectory.

What would a successful Flight 13 enable next?

If the booster completes its boostback and soft Gulf splashdown and the Ship completes a Raptor relight and Indian Ocean touchdown, SpaceX is expected to attempt the first V3 booster catch at Starbase on Flight 14.