BOCA CHICA, Texas — SpaceX has set a new target of Thursday, July 23 for Starship Flight 13, giving the company a few extra days to finish propulsion upgrades after a last-second abort earlier in the week. The 90-minute launch window opens at 5:45 p.m. CT from Orbital Launch Pad 2 at Starbase.
The revised date follows a dramatic hold on July 16, when Starship's flight computer called an automatic abort at T-0 after only 29 of the Super Heavy booster's 33 Raptor engines reached their startup parameters. Rather than push forward, SpaceX stood down, a decision that reflected the same disciplined caution that has defined the Starship program from its earlier stand-down through this week.
Two Engines Swapped, Reliability Improved
Elon Musk said shortly after the scrub that two Raptors would be removed and replaced "to be confident of a good flight." SpaceX engineers spent the following days doing exactly that, and the company says it has made several additional hardware and operational modifications to address the engine-start issue, with further reliability improvements planned before ignition.
The vehicle for Flight 13 pairs Booster 20 with Ship 40, the latest iteration of the fully reusable stack. SpaceX had initially eyed a Monday, July 20 attempt after the abort, then moved the target to Thursday to allow time for the propulsion work and range coordination. The methodical pacing is characteristic of a test campaign that has steadily expanded Starship's capabilities flight after flight.
First Starlink V3 Satellites On Board
Flight 13 carries real stakes beyond a clean ascent. The mission is designed to deploy 20 Starlink V3 satellites for the first time ever — next-generation spacecraft that SpaceX says will dramatically expand the network's capacity and per-user speeds. Six of the satellites carry cameras to inspect the ship's heat shield during flight, feeding data that will sharpen future reentry designs.
The flight plan also calls for a single Raptor relight while the ship is in space and another controlled entry, descent and splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Each of those objectives builds toward the rapid, airline-style reusability that underpins SpaceX's Mars ambitions and its expanding Starlink constellation, which already serves millions of customers worldwide.
A Program Built On Iteration
Starship's development has always leaned on flying hardware, learning fast and returning to the pad quickly. That approach has delivered a string of milestones this year, including record-setting booster reuse on the Falcon side of the fleet. A few extra days to swap engines is a small price for the confidence of a strong Flight 13.
SpaceX will confirm the final go for launch after completing its pre-flight reviews, and the company plans a live webcast beginning about an hour before liftoff. If Thursday holds, viewers can expect the largest and most powerful rocket ever built to light all 33 Raptors and, this time, clear the tower on its way to writing the next chapter of the Starlink V3 era. Official mission details are posted on SpaceX's Flight 13 page.
