SpaceX Starship Flight 13 in 3 Days – Thursday July 16

SpaceX Starship Critical Path is part of an ongoing Starship series which follows SpaceX engineers through the final days before launch of the first Starship V3 and the challenges that come with development of the world’s most powerful and fully reusable rocket.

Building a rocket (or launch pad) is extremely complex, so teams must constantly track the critical path — the longest chain of sequential, interdependent tasks that cannot slip without delaying the entire launch.

Success depends on relentless teamwork, identifying blockers early, and solving problems under time pressure.

One Week to Launch
Focuses on final preparations and testing.
Shows a 10-engine static fire on Booster 19 (a major pre-flight test of the Raptor 3 engines and systems).

4 Days to Launch

Intensive work on vehicle integration, checks, and resolving any remaining issues on the critical path.

3 Days to Launch

Continued countdown activities, inspections, and coordination between teams.

Starlink v3 “Dumlink” Install

Installation of test/dummy Starlink satellites (v3 configuration) on the Ship for the flight test objectives (imaging and deployment tests).

2 Days to Launch
Final stacking, propellant loading preparations, and system verifications.

24 Hours to Launch

Last major checks, briefings, and ensuring every critical-path item is complete or has contingencies.

The previous video was test like you fly.

SpaceX Youtubers cover the preparations and plans for Starship flight 13 in about 3 days (Thursday, July 16, 2026.)

SpaceX is targeting Thursday, July 16, 2026, for the 13th integrated flight test of Starship. The 90-minute launch window opens at 5:45 p.m. CDT (6:45 p.m. EDT) from Pad 2 at Starbase, Texas.

This is a suborbital test flight similar in profile to Flight 12 (May 22, 2026), but with several important upgrades and firsts.

Booster 20 (V3 / Block 3 with Raptor 3 engines)
Ship 40 (V3)

Both vehicles completed major testing, including Booster 20’s successful full 33-engine static fire.

Booster (Super Heavy) Goals

Successful liftoff and ascent
Hot-staging / stage separation
Boostback burn
Landing burn
Controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico (no tower catch attempt this flight)

Ship (Upper Stage) Goals
Deploy 20 functional Starlink V3 satellites (major first — previous flights used mass simulators)
Perform a single Raptor engine relight in space
Controlled reentry, bellyflop, landing burn, and splashdown in the Indian Ocean

Key Firsts & Tests on Flight 13

First real Starlink V3 satellites carried and deployed by Starship.Satellites will extend solar arrays and antennas.
They will attempt brief connections with a ground station in South Africa and the broader Starlink constellation using high-capacity laser links.
6 of the satellites are modified with cameras to image Starship’s heat shield during flight.

Heat shield experiments

Several tiles painted white (to simulate missing tiles and serve as imaging targets).
New tile configurations and attachments on the aft flaps and skirt.
Load-sensing tiles to measure stresses under higher dynamic pressure.

Fixes from Flight 12

Hardware and software improvements for more reliable booster flip after separation.
Better engine startup sequence and reliability for the boostback burn.
Propulsion system upgrades to address the engine-out issue experienced on Flight 12.