SpaceX postpones Starship Flight 13 launch to July 24 due to weather

SpaceX has moved the launch of its Starship Flight 13 test to no earlier than Friday, July 24, citing unfavorable weather conditions that would impede visual observation of the vehicle’s heat shield. The launch window opens at 6:45 p.m. EDT (2245 GMT) and will last 90 minutes, with a livestream beginning about half an hour earlier.

"Now targeting Friday, July 24 for Starship’s thirteenth flight test, due to weather," the company wrote on its social-media channel. "A key objective for the flight test is to get clear imagery from the ground of Starship’s heatshield as it flies at a higher dynamic pressure during ascent, which won't be possible with today's weather conditions. Visibility is forecast to be ideal for a Friday attempt."

The test flight will not achieve orbit. After ascent, the Super Heavy booster is expected to execute a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, while the Starship upper stage will land in the Indian Ocean west of Australia. The vehicle will deploy 20 Starlink Version 3 internet satellites from a payload-bay door that functions like a dispenser. Six of the satellites are equipped with high-resolution cameras intended to transmit live views of the heat shield and exterior back to Earth; all 20 will carry solar arrays and laser links before deorbiting along the same trajectory as the rocket.

The launch follows a previous abort on July 16, when several of the booster’s 33 Raptor engines failed to ignite. SpaceX replaced the suspect engines and completed additional pre-flight testing before rescheduling the attempt.