SpaceX is preparing to launch Starship Flight 13 as early as Thursday, July 16, 2026, from its Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The launch window opens at approximately 5:45 p.m. CT (22:45 UTC), pending final regulatory approvals.

This will be the second flight of the V3 vehicle configuration — featuring the newly-built Super Heavy booster Booster 20 (B20) and the upper-stage Ship 40 (S40). The V3 design incorporates a clean-sheet redesign of the propulsion systems, including a new Raptor startup method, increased propellant tank volume, and a series of upgrades aimed at improving reliability and performance.

According to SpaceX's mission page, the primary test objectives for the Super Heavy booster are: a successful launch and ascent, hot-staging separation from the Ship upper stage, a full-duration boostback burn, and a controlled landing burn leading to a soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. The team is not yet attempting a catch of the booster at the launch tower — that milestone is expected on a later flight.

Ship 40 will aim to achieve a controlled reentry and splashdown, building on the data gathered during Flight 12. The V3 Ship features upgraded thermal protection and improved avionics for the descent phase.

Flight 12, which launched on May 22, 2026, was the first flight of the V3 architecture and was deemed largely successful, though the booster experienced issues during the landing burn. Since then, SpaceX has completed a full static fire test of all 33 Raptor V3 engines on Booster 20, lasting approximately 25 seconds — a record duration for the upgraded powerplant.

The rapid turnaround between flights signals SpaceX's accelerated test campaign. With Flight 13 scheduled just 55 days after Flight 12, SpaceX aims to demonstrate that the V3 platform is approaching operational reliability. Elon Musk has indicated that catch attempts for both the booster and the Ship could begin as early as Flights 14 or 15.

Starship remains central to NASA's Artemis program for lunar landings and SpaceX's broader ambitions for Mars transportation. Each successful test flight brings the fully reusable super-heavy launch system closer to operational service.

Sources