Just two days away.
[Thursday-morning update]
Here‘s what’s riding on the test.
SPCX hit a new low today. Everyone who bought since the IPO is currently underwater. Hard to know where the bottom might be, but it might be near it, and time to get in.
— Rand Simberg (@Simberg_Space) July 15, 2026
[Friday-morning update]
Well, if it hadn’t scrubbed, it would have flown on the 57th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11. Now it has been rescheduled for the same anniversary of the landing, on Monday.
[Bumped]
Possibly the least ambitious flight for some time, repeating the objectives of the previous flight. But of course, they need to be fully confident in the various stages performance in achieving those objectives before aiming hundreds of tonnes of steel at their only currently operational pad!
Assuming all goes well, I wonder if they can attempt both booster RTLS and ship RTLS on the next flight – would likely require ship to remain on orbit for several hours whilst the booster is removed to a safe distance, assuming it succeeds.
There will be some significant differences from Flight 12 and two will occur very early in flight. Flight 13 is intended to pitch over sooner and more than Flight 12 did. This will reduce gravity losses on ascent at the expense of staying longer and going faster in thicker air which will significantly increase the maximum aerodynamic pressure load at Max Q. The plan is also to stay at full throttle through Max Q which will simply amplify the effects of the shallower ascent profile. Both of these changes are in furtherance of maximizing payload capacity. According to SpaceX’s Rules of Order a motion to increase payload capacity is always in order.
Deploying 20 actual V3 Starlink sats rather than mass simulators is also a significant change from Flight 12. There are a whole bunch of additional boxes to check on this flight compared to the previous one.
I would imagine that the first time they place a Ship into orbit they will have a series of experiments/tests to perform. So keeping it there while the booster is cleared form the pad shouldn’t be too hard.
I hope that Flight 14 sees the first launch and deployment of a full load of 60 Starlink V3 sats. Such a payload would mass modestly more than 100 tonnes and would simultaneously end both the “Starship can’t make orbit” and the “Starship can’t do 100 tonnes to orbit” wheezes from SpaceX detractors. I will readily confess to some anticipatory schadenfreude at the coming discomfiture of the invincibly foolish.
Some of the detractors are impervious to reason on the subject. I assume you are referring to the likes of “pilot error Boeing boy”, and “toxic Dragon” types.
Why, yes – yes I am.
Nice honorifics for both, by the way.
“discomfiture of the invincibly foolish.”
Along with the pugnaciously stupid and the aggressively ignorant.
Yes. All three of those are too often a package deal.
Aborted a very few seconds after ignition. Don’t know why and the next attempt date is TBD.
However I’ve observed (as I’m sure others have) an issue I think they will have to address in order to achieve high flight rates:
Once the water deluge is started they are unable to try for a second launch attempt because the rocket would have to wait around, fully fueled, while they refilled the water reservoir.
They are going to have to come up with a way to have more water available immediately for a second try if the first try is aborted but the issue is solved rapidly.
I believe that is in the works – mainly a matter of adding more water tankage.
Too bad Starship didn’t fly as scheduled, but a new attempt date appears to have been set for Monday the 20th. If the Flight 13 launch could not occur on the 57th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch perhaps it will still occur on the 57th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.
I suspect long term, with multiple pads you’re looking at a reservoir…