Overview
- The launch attempt was aborted at T‑0 on Thursday when some of the Super Heavy booster’s 33 Raptor engines failed to start, triggering an automatic shutdown and an immediate offload of propellant.
- SpaceX said it will remove and replace two Raptor engines before the next attempt and has targeted an early next‑week relaunch window pending inspections and tanking operations.
- Flight 13 was carrying 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites for the first time, six of which carry cameras to image Starship’s heat shield while the satellites are put on a suborbital trajectory that will see them reenter and burn up about 20 minutes after deployment.
- The abort follows hardware and software fixes that the company documented to the Federal Aviation Administration after May’s Flight 12, which suffered engine outages and a failed booster recovery, and the FAA cleared Starship to fly earlier this week.
- Investors reacted quickly with SpaceX shares sliding below the IPO price, and the delay heightens scrutiny because Starship’s reliability affects Starlink capacity plans and NASA’s timeline for lunar mission tests.