SpaceX is set to launch Starship’s 13th test flight from Texas on Thursday. The 90-minute window opens at 5:45 p.m. CDT from Starbase near Boca Chica Beach, Texas.
The flight is the next check on the third version of SpaceX’s biggest rocket. It will also be the first time Starship carries V3 Starlink satellites, with 20 set to deploy before they burn up on reentry about 20 minutes later.
Flight 12’s booster problems
Flight 12 on May 22 showed why this run matters. SpaceX said the booster’s directional flip was off by approximately 90 degrees, and five of the Super Heavy booster’s 33 engines malfunctioned during the boostback burn.
The booster was supposed to finish a sustained burn and land in the gulf. Instead, SpaceX said engine failure sent it back to Earth in a hard splashdown, although the Federal Aviation Administration said there were no reports of public injury or damage to public property.
Super Heavy changes for Flight 13
SpaceX said the startup sequence has been modified to make it more robust to timing variability and to flip in the desired direction more reliably. It also said the upcoming Super Heavy has hardware changes aimed at improving re-light reliability.
The company said it updated engine alarms and aborts to match conditions seen in the multi-engine flight environment. That is the practical question hanging over this launch: whether the booster can keep its engines behaving under the exact timing pressure that exposed Flight 12’s weakness.
Starlink payload on Starship
On Flight 13, Starship will carry V3 Starlink satellites to space for the first time. SpaceX says the payload is meant to expand communications capacity and user speeds, and the 20 satellites will extend solar arrays and antennas before linking with the larger Starlink constellation via high-capacity lasers.
That makes the launch more than a booster test. It is also a live check of whether the third version of the system can handle deployment work before SpaceX uses Starship for Artemis 4 astronauts in late 2028.
The unanswered question is whether Flight 13 will deliver a cleaner booster recovery than Flight 12 while still releasing the 20 satellites as planned.
