Starship flight test 13
.jpg) Starship on Pad 2 ahead of Flight 13 | |
| Mission type | Flight test |
|---|---|
| Operator | SpaceX |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Starship Ship 40 |
| Spacecraft type | Starship (Block 3) |
| Manufacturer | SpaceX |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | July 24, 2026, 22:51:00 UTC (17:51:00 CDT)[1] |
| Rocket | Super Heavy (Block 3, B20) |
| Launch site | Starbase, OLP-2 |
| End of mission | |
| Landing site |
|
| Payload | |
| 20 × Starlink V3 | |
| Mass | ~34,100 kg (75,200 lb)[2][3] |
Starship flight test 13 was the thirteenth flight test of the SpaceX Starship launch system, using Booster 20 and Ship 40.[4]
During the initial launch attempt on July 16, 2026, the vehicle's flight software triggered an automatic abort at T−0 just prior to liftoff after six Raptor engines had problems with their oxidizer turbo-pumps and failed to meet flight speeds, protecting both the vehicle and the launch pad from damage.[5][6] After another scrub due to weather conditions, the third launch attempt on July 24 was successful and became the first Starship flight to deploy operational satellites with 20 Starlink satellites deployed in suborbit that made contact with the Starlink constellation.[7] Booster 20's ocean landing burn failed when only ten of 13 Raptor engines relit, with subsequent shutdowns causing destruction on impact.[2]
Background
[edit]Federal clearance for flight
[edit]Following Starship flight test 12, a mishap investigation report was completed to secure flight clearance.[8] The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concluded its review on July 13, clearing the path for subsequent Starship launches.[9]
Vehicle testing ahead of launch
[edit]Booster 20
[edit]Following assembly, Booster 20 (B20) was transported to the Massey's test site on June 5, 2026, where it completed a cryogenic proof test the following day.[10] On July 10, after moving to Orbital Launch Pad 2, the booster completed a major pre-flight milestone by executing a successful, full-duration, 33-engine static fire.[11]
Ship 40
[edit]Stacking operations for Ship 40 (S40) concluded on March 2, 2026,[12] with cryogenic testing completing at Massey's in early May.[13] Following engine installation, the vehicle returned to Massey's on June 23. S40 completed a successful single-engine static fire on June 25 after a brief diagnostic run.[14] After returning briefly to the production site for final checks,[14] S40 was transported back to Massey's, where it fired all six engines on July 1.[15]
Launch attempts
[edit]SpaceX initially targeted Thursday, July 16, for flight 13; however, the flight was scrubbed at T-minus 0 seconds as four of the 33 Raptor engines failed to ignite.[16] Initially, the second launch attempt was scheduled for Monday, July 20, but was later rescheduled for Thursday, July 23.[16][17] The date was moved to July 24 due to Tropical Storm Bertha.[1]
Mission profile
[edit]| Attempt | Planned | Result | Turnaround | Reason | Decision point | Weather go (%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 Jul 2026, 6:45:00 pm | Scrubbed | — | Technical | 16 Jul 2026, 6:45 pm (T−00:00:00) | 90 | Automatic abort triggered during ignition due to issues with six LOX turbopumps.[citation needed] Two engines will be preemptively replaced.[18] |
| 2 | 23 Jul 2026, 6:45:00 pm | Scrubbed | 7 days 0 hours 0 minutes | Weather | 23 Jul 2026, 3:08 pm (T−02:37:00) | SpaceX stated that the scrub was to allow visual examination of the heat tiles during ascent.[19] | |
| 3 | 24 Jul 2026, 6:51:00 pm | Success | 1 day 0 hours 6 minutes |
The flight profile built upon previous test flights. Starship flew on a controlled suborbital trajectory designed to fall just short of orbit,[20] while the Super Heavy booster executed a flip and boostback burn before suffering multiple engine failures and splashing down hard in the Gulf of Mexico.[2][21]
The upper stage carried 20 next-generation Starlink satellites, six of which were equipped with advanced cameras to inspect S40 in space, mirroring the Space Shuttle's rendezvous pitch maneuver (RPM). Because the flight was intentionally suborbital, the satellites reentered the atmosphere about 20 minutes after deployment.[2] To further demonstrate its advancing capabilities, the ship performed an in-space Raptor relight before executing a targeted splashdown and landing flip maneuver in the Indian Ocean.[2] The ship splashed down and remained intact and operational after tipping over, a first for the vehicle, allowing a drone to inspect the heat shield and engines.[2]
Flight timeline
[edit]The timeline below reflects the initial aborted July 16 attempt, as well as the actual launch on July 24.
| Time | Event | July 16, 2026 | July 24, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| −00:50:00 | SpaceX flight director conducts poll and verifies go for propellant load | Go for propellant loading | Go for propellant loading |
| −00:37:30 | Ship LOX (liquid oxygen) load underway | Success | Success |
| −00:37:00 | Booster LOX load underway | Success | Success |
| −00:35:25 | Booster fuel (liquid methane) load underway | Success | Success |
| −00:34:48 | Ship fuel load underway | Success | Success |
| −00:21:30 | Raptor begins engine chill on booster and ship | Success | Success |
| −00:02:50 | Booster propellant load complete | Success | Success |
| −00:02:10 | Ship propellant load complete | Success | Success |
| −00:00:30 | SpaceX flight director verifies go for launch | Success | Success |
| −00:00:17 | Flame diverter activation | Success | Success |
| −00:00:03 | Raptor ignition sequence begins | Aborted at T−00:00:00. The flight software aborted ignition when four of Super Heavy's 33 engines did not start. | Success |
| +00:00:00 | Liftoff | N/a | Success |
| +00:00:58 | Max Q (moment of peak aerodynamic stress on the rocket) | N/a | Success |
| +00:02:18 | Super Heavy MECO (most engines cut off) | N/a | Success |
| +00:02:21 | Hot-staging (Starship Raptor ignition and stage separation) | N/a | Success |
| +00:02:25 | Super Heavy boostback burn start | N/a | Success |
| +00:03:03 | Super Heavy boostback burn shutdown | N/a | Boostback burn ended early at T+2:55 |
| +00:06:27 | Super Heavy landing burn start | N/a | Only ten engines relit with multiple engines shutting down shortly after |
| +00:06:53 | Super Heavy landing burn shutdown | N/a | Vehicle impacted the water and was destroyed |
| +00:08:05 | Starship engine cutoff (SECO) | N/a | Success |
| +00:16:40 | Payload deploy demo start | N/a | Success |
| +00:27:39 | Payload deploy demo complete | N/a | Success |
| +00:38:58 | Raptor in-space relight demo | N/a | Success |
| +00:47:30 | Starship entry begins | N/a | Success |
| +01:02:23 | Starship is transonic | N/a | Success |
| +01:03:01 | Starship is subsonic | N/a | Success |
| +01:05:01 | Landing burn start | N/a | Success |
| +01:05:03 | Landing flip | N/a | Success |
| +01:05:12 | Landing burn 3 to 2 engines | N/a | Success |
| +01:05:19 | Landing burn 2 to 1 engine | N/a | Success |
| +01:05:21 | Splashdown | N/a | Success |
| Source: SpaceX[2] | |||
Recovery
[edit]Elon Musk confirmed that SpaceX would attempt recovery efforts of Ship 40 on July 28.[22] The SpaceX recovery vessel Go Australis remained near Ship 40 for a few days after splashdown, later joined by tugs Normand Ranger and Skimmer Tide a half day later.[23] Musk stated on X that recovery of Ship 40 was looking doubtful on August 7.[24][25] Normand Ranger and Go Australis towed Ship 40 to waters off Christmas Island on August 18, with the Australian Space Agency confirming the Australian government was aiding in recovery operations.[26] SpaceX stated on X that engineers will conduct additional analysis on site before attempting to return Ship 40 to Starbase, Texas.[27] An exclusion zone was established around Ship 40 and Normand Ranger at Christmas Island.[28] On August 23, semi-submersible heavy-lift ship Forte arrived at Christmas Island, to transport Ship 40 back to Starbase.[29] Ship 40 was loaded onto Forte on August 26 after engineers collected heatshield samples and data from the ship.[30]
Aftermath
[edit]Flight Test 13 resulted in a successful test of Ship 40, from stage separation to splash down, completing verification for a future orbital flight with testing of an in-space Starship engine relight.[31][32] Shortly after flight test 13, Elon Musk announced that flight test 14 would include catching the Starship with the "Mechazilla" launch tower which would first require the Starship to have entered orbit.[33]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 Dinner, Josh (July 24, 2026). "SpaceX Starship Flight 13 launch updates: SpaceX 'over the moon' after Starship launch". space.com. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
A planned July 23 launch was delayed by weather.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Starship's Thirteenth Flight Test". SpaceX. July 11, 2026. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
- ↑ @SpaceX (July 10, 2026). ""Critical Path" continues the ongoing Starship series, following SpaceX engineers through the final days before launch of the first Starship V3 and the challenges that come with development of the world's most powerful and fully reusable rocket" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
- ↑ Weber, Ryan (June 26, 2026). "Ship 40 completes single-engine static fire; Booster 20 and Pad 2 see new work". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
- ↑ Edwards, Brooke (July 17, 2026). "SpaceX Starship launch aborted after engines fail to start". Florida Today. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
- ↑ Barker, Aaron; Marley, Ronnie (July 16, 2026). "SpaceX Starship flight in Texas scrubbed seconds before launch". FOX 35 Orlando. Retrieved July 16, 2026.
- ↑ O'Kane, Sean (July 24, 2026). "SpaceX launches new V3 Starlink satellites but suffers another booster failure". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
- ↑ Wall, Mike (May 27, 2026). "FAA grounds SpaceX's Starship V3 megarocket after Flight 12 'mishap'". Space.com. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
- ↑ Roulette, Joey (July 13, 2026). "US agency closes Starship review ahead of SpaceX's next test flight". MSN. Reuters. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
- ↑ NASASpaceflight (June 7, 2026). Onward to Flight 13: Booster 20 Cryo | SpaceX Starbase. Event occurs at 9:23. Retrieved June 8, 2026 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Weber, Ryan (July 10, 2026). "Booster 20 completes record duration Static Fire". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
- ↑ NASASpaceflight (March 4, 2026). "The artist formerly known as Ship 39?" | SpaceX Starbase. Retrieved March 6, 2026 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Weber, Ryan (May 5, 2026). "Pad 1 conversion ongoing, with Flight 12 nearing". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
- 1 2 Weber, Ryan (June 26, 2026). "Ship 40 completes single-engine static fire; Booster 20 and Pad 2 see new work". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
- ↑ NASASpaceflight (July 1, 2026). SpaceX Performs Engine Testing of Ship 40. Event occurs at 52:22. Retrieved July 12, 2026 – via YouTube.
- 1 2 Roulette, Joey (July 17, 2026). "SpaceX targets next week for another Starship launch attempt as shares slide on abort". Reuters. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
- ↑ Kaur, Gursimran (July 19, 2026). "SpaceX moves Starship launch attempt to Thursday". Reuters. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
- ↑ Musk, Elon [@elonmusk] (July 17, 2026). "To be confident of a good flight, 2 Raptors will be removed & replaced. Most probable launch timing is early next week" (Tweet). Retrieved July 17, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
- ↑ @SpaceX (July 23, 2026). "Now targeting Friday, July 24 for Starship's thirteenth flight test, due to weather. A key objective for the flight test is to get clear imagery from the ground of Starship's heatshield as it flies at a higher dynamic pressure during ascent, which won't be possible with today's weather conditions. Visibility is forecast to be ideal for a Friday attempt" (Tweet). Retrieved July 24, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
- ↑ Clark, Stephen (September 9, 2025). "SpaceX's lesson from last Starship flight? "We need to seal the tiles."". Ars Technica. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
- ↑ Harwood, William (July 25, 2026). "Super Heavy-Starship rocket chalks up mostly successful test flight". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
- ↑ Musk, Elon [@elonmusk] (July 28, 2026). "We're sending a ship out to recover Starship" (Tweet). Retrieved July 29, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
- ↑ Wattles, Jackie; Bordeaux, Thomas (August 3, 2026). "Satellite imagery captures race to recover 170-foot SpaceX Starship in the Indian Ocean | CNN". CNN. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Musk, Elon [@elonmusk] (August 7, 2026). "Unfortunately, ship recovery is not looking good right now. Nonetheless, we were able to obtain close-up photos of critical regions of the heat shield and engines for future upgrades" (Tweet). Retrieved August 19, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Lagatta, Eric; Edwards, Brooke. "SpaceX recovers Starship spacecraft Elon Musk once feared lost to sea". USA TODAY. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
- ↑ "SpaceX rocket splashes down off Christmas Island". ABC News. August 18, 2026. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ Musk, Elon [@elonmusk] (August 18, 2026). "SpaceX Recovery team successfully guided Starship to a location just off the coast of Christmas Island" (Tweet). Retrieved August 18, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
- ↑ Bergin, Chris (August 18, 2026). "Ship 40 arrives at Christmas Island, Plans Return to Starbase". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved August 20, 2026.
- ↑ "Specialist ship arrives to cart SpaceX rocket from Christmas Island". ABC News. August 24, 2026. Retrieved August 25, 2026.
- ↑ SpaceX [@SpaceX] (August 27, 2026). "Starship has now been loaded onto a semi-submersible ship to begin the several month journey back to Starbase. Congratulations to the entire SpaceX Recovery team for battling through challenging conditions to give our engineers access to a wealth of data to continue rapidly developing Starship" (Tweet). Retrieved August 27, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
- ↑ Dunn, Marcia (July 24, 2026). "SpaceX launches Starship on another test flight, this time with the most advanced Starlinks". Associated Press. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
- ↑ Malik, Tariq (July 24, 2026). "SpaceX's Starship megarocket makes the 'softest splashdown' ever after launching next-gen Starlink satellites in Flight 13 test". Space.com. Retrieved July 25, 2026.
- ↑ "SpaceX Targets First Starship Upper Stage Tower Catch for Flight 14". SatNews. July 25, 2026. Retrieved July 26, 2026.
