SuccessSpaceX

Flight 13

Starship V3. Orbital Launch Pad 2, SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA.

Launch Successful

Recovery

Booster 20: Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, failed
S40: Ocean, Indian Ocean, successful

1 Landed, 1 Lost

Your Time: 22:51 UTC
UTC: 22:51 UTC
At the Pad: 22:51 UTC

Flight 13, photo by SpaceX — Flight 13
SpaceX

Mission

Test Flight, Suborbital

13th test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle. Second flight of Starship V3. For the first time, Starship will carry 20 V3 Starlink satellites to space, which will extend solar arrays and antennas and will attempt to connect with ground stations in South Africa and the larger Starlink constellation via high-capacity lasers. 6 of the satellites have been modified with a suite of cameras to scan Starship’s heat shield and transmit imagery down to operators to continue testing methods of analyzing Starship’s heat shield readiness for return to launch site on future missions. Several tiles on Starship have been painted white to simulate missing tiles and serve as imaging targets in the test.

Countdown Sequence

Planned offsets from T-0; confirmations link to their sources

Sequence Ended · Success

T−00:50:00
GO for Prop Load
Launch director verifies go for propellant load
Planned Time Elapsed
22:01:00
T−00:36:33
Stage 1 LOX Load
Start of liquid oxygen loading in the first stage
Planned Time Elapsed
22:14:27
T−00:35:00
Stage 1 LNG Load
Start of liquid methane loading in the first stage
Planned Time Elapsed
22:16:00
T−00:34:14
Stage 2 LNG Load
Start of liquid methane loading in the second stage
Planned Time Elapsed
22:16:46
T−00:34:13
Stage 2 LOX Load
Start of liquid oxygen loading in the second stage
Planned Time Elapsed
22:16:47
T−00:21:40
Engine Chill
Start of engine chilling
Planned Time Elapsed
22:29:20
T−00:02:50
Stage 1 Propellant Load Complete
End of propellant loading in the first stage
Planned Time Elapsed
22:48:10
T−00:02:10
Stage 2 Propellant Load Complete
End of propellant loading in the second stage
Planned Time Elapsed
22:48:50
T−00:00:30
GO for Launch
Launch director verifies go for launch
Planned Time Elapsed
22:50:30
T−00:00:17
Flame Deflector Activation
Activation of the flame deflector ahead of engine ignition
Planned Time Elapsed
22:50:43
T−00:00:03
Ignition
Start of the engine ignition sequence
Planned Time Elapsed
22:50:57
T+00:00:00
Liftoff
First upwards movement of the rocket
Confirmed ↗
22:51:00
T+00:00:00
Excitement Guaranteed
Excitement guaranteed
Planned Time Elapsed
22:51:00
T+00:00:58
Max-Q
Maximum dynamic pressure
Planned Time Elapsed
22:51:58
T+00:02:18
MECO
Cut-off of the main engine
Planned Time Elapsed
22:53:18
T+00:02:21
Stage 2 Separation
Separation of the second stage from the first
Planned Time Elapsed
22:53:21
T+00:02:25
Booster Boostback Burn Startup
Start of the booster boostback burn
Planned Time Elapsed
22:53:25
T+00:03:03
Booster Boostback Burn Shutdown
End of the booster boostback burn
Planned Time Elapsed
22:54:03
T+00:06:27
Stage 1 Landing Burn
Start of the first stage landing burn
Planned Time Elapsed
22:57:27
T+00:06:53
Stage 1 Landing
Landing of the first stage
Planned Time Elapsed
22:57:53
T+00:08:05
SECO-1
First cut-off of the second engine
Planned Time Elapsed
22:59:05
T+00:16:40
Payload Deployment Sequence Start
Start of the payload deployment sequence
Planned Time Elapsed
23:07:40
T+00:27:39
Payload Deployment Sequence End
End of the payload deployment sequence.
Planned Time Elapsed
23:18:39
T+00:38:58
SEB-2
2nd burn of the second engine
Planned Time Elapsed
23:29:58
T+00:47:30
Atmospheric Entry
Start of the atmospheric re-entry
Planned Time Elapsed
23:38:30
T+01:02:23
Starship Transonic
Starship passing through the transonic regime
Planned Time Elapsed
23:53:23
T+01:03:01
Starship Subsonic
Starship reaches a subsonic velocity
Planned Time Elapsed
23:54:01
T+01:05:01
Starship Landing Burn
Start of the Starship orbital stage landing burn
Planned Time Elapsed
23:56:01
T+01:05:03
Landing Flip
Flip maneuver to set the orientation for landing
Planned Time Elapsed
23:56:03
T+01:05:12
Starship Landing
Landing of the Starship orbital stage
Planned Time Elapsed
23:56:12
T+01:05:19
Starship Landing
Landing of the Starship orbital stage
Planned Time Elapsed
23:56:19
T+01:05:21
Starship Landing
Landing of the Starship orbital stage
Planned Time Elapsed
23:56:21
Success
Confirmed from launch status ↗

Change Log

Detected changes and source updates

Ship has splashed down.
Liftoff.
Unofficial Re-stream by SPACE AFFAIRS has started
Now targeting Jul 24 at 22:51 UTC
Rescheduled to July 24 due to launch site weather.
Delayed to NET July 23.
Setting GO.
NET July 20, TBC.
Reverted back to NET July TBD pending more information.
Scrubbed for the day.
Abort at ignition.
Unofficial Re-stream by SPACE AFFAIRS has started
Tweaked T-0.
Tweaked T-0.
GO for launch.
NET July 15, TBC.
NET July 14, TBC.
NET July.
Adding launch

Schedule

No T-0 revisions detected since tracking began.

Launch Record

708th

SpaceX Launch

89th

SpaceX Launch of 2026

63d

Since the Pad's Previous Launch

Vehicle

Starship V3

Provider: SpaceX
Reusable: Yes
Booster 20: Flight 1
S40: Starship V3

Launch Site

Orbital Launch Pad 2

SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA

Coordinates: 25.997, -97.158
Local Time: --:--:--

Recovery

Booster 20Booster 20: Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, failed
The Super Heavy Booster 20 attempted to perform a soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, but not all of the planned engines ignited during the landing burn and the booster splashed down at higher speeds than planned.
S40S40: Ocean, Indian Ocean, successful
Ship 40 has successfully performed a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

Sources and Freshness

Source Updated
Retrieved