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FAA Clears SpaceX to Resume Starship Tests as Flight 13 Targets July 16

The agency approved SpaceX’s fixes so the next flight can gather data on engine‑restart reliability and booster recovery for the company’s reusable rocket program.

The Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft, solar panels extended, approaches the International Space Station. Soyuz MS-29 is set to carry NASA astronaut Anil Menon and cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina to the station this week. Credit: NASA
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Overview

  • The Federal Aviation Administration closed its investigation on Monday and cleared SpaceX to fly again after the company implemented corrective actions for a May Super Heavy booster failure.
  • SpaceX is targeting Flight 13 no earlier than Thursday, July 16, from Starbase, Texas, with a 90‑minute launch window and a live webcast beginning about 30 minutes before liftoff.
  • Flight 13 will carry 20 functional Starlink V3 test satellites, six of which have cameras to image Starship’s heat shield, but the satellites will follow a suborbital path and are expected to burn up about 20 minutes after deployment.
  • SpaceX has made specific hardware and software changes since Flight 12, including a modified upper‑stage engine startup sequence, improved Raptor relight hardware, updated engine alarms and abort logic, heat‑shield upgrades, and recent static‑fire tests.
  • The mission will attempt an in‑space Raptor relight and a controlled boostback/soft splashdown for the Super Heavy booster, results that will shape SpaceX’s reusability timeline, Starlink payload plans and readiness for NASA lunar commitments while affecting nearby residents during test operations.