SpaceX is targeting Thursday, July 23, 2026, for the second launch attempt of its massive Starship Flight 13, following an abort during its initial attempt on July 16. According to official mission updates and SpaceX, the 408-foot-tall (124.4 meters) megarocket is scheduled to lift off from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas during a 90-minute launch window starting at 6:45 p.m. EDT (5:45 p.m. local Texas time).
The upcoming flight represents the 13th test of the fully reusable Starship system and the second launch of the advanced Starship Version 3 (V3) prototype. The first launch of V3 occurred on May 22, 2026, during Flight 12.
The delay to July 23 comes after a dramatic launch scrub on July 16, when the countdown was halted just as the Super Heavy booster’s 33 Raptor engines began their ignition sequence. SpaceX founder Elon Musk later explained on social media platform X that two Raptor engines would be removed and replaced to ensure flight safety. While SpaceX initially aimed for a quick turnaround on July 20, the company officially pushed the target date to Thursday.
The flight profile for Flight 13 closely mirrors that of Flight 12. The Super Heavy booster is programmed to perform a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, while the Starship upper stage will head on a suborbital trajectory toward a splashdown off the coast of Western Australia. During Flight 12, the upper stage successfully achieved its splashdown, but the Super Heavy booster suffered engine issues and hit the Gulf of Mexico hard.
A key addition to Flight 13 is its payload. The mission will carry 20 of SpaceX’s next-generation Starlink V3 internet satellites into space for the first time. However, because Starship is flying a suborbital trajectory, these satellites are not designed to remain in orbit; they are expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere approximately 20 minutes after deployment.
This test flight is highly critical for both SpaceX and NASA. The Starship V3 architecture is the primary vehicle designated to land American astronauts on the Moon under NASA’s Artemis program, as well as to power SpaceX’s future crewed missions to Mars.