Overview
- The Federal Aviation Administration closed its investigation and approved SpaceX’s corrective actions on Monday, July 13, after finding probable causes tied to heat effects on propulsion components and erroneous engine-alarm settings.
- SpaceX is targeting a 90‑minute launch window beginning July 16 to fly Flight 13 from Starbase, Texas, a suborbital test designed to validate recent hardware and software fixes.
- Engine and sequencing changes include a revised engine startup sequence for the upper stage, updated engine alarm and abort logic, and booster hardware upgrades aimed at improving Raptor relight reliability.
- Flight 13 will attempt an in‑space relight of a Raptor engine, a complete boostback and soft splashdown test for the Super Heavy booster, and deployment of 20 Starlink V3 test satellites, six of which carry cameras to image the heat shield.
- The mission remains developmental: the Starlink V3 units will try communications and imaging but are planned to reenter and burn up about 20 minutes after deployment, and the flight will produce engineering data that informs reusability goals and NASA Artemis timelines.