Overview
- SpaceX plans to launch Flight 13 from Starbase, Texas during a 90‑minute window that opens at 6:45 p.m. ET on Thursday using first‑flight Booster 20 and Ship 40 with no recovery attempt planned.
- The mission will deploy 20 production Starlink V3 satellites on a suborbital trajectory that will extend solar arrays, attempt brief links to the constellation, and are expected to burn up about 20 minutes after deployment.
- Engineers applied targeted fixes after Flight 12 to address multi‑engine startup and relight problems, updated engine alarms and abort logic, and the FAA closed its mishap review and accepted SpaceX’s probable cause findings.
- Flight 13 will carry heat‑shield experiments including white‑painted imaging targets, modified tile attachments, and load‑sensing tiles, with six Starlinks fitted with cameras to photograph the shield before reentry.
- A successful test would support SpaceX’s push for faster launches, feed data needed for reusable upper stages and NASA docking plans, and increase pressure from investors as the company moves toward a possible orbital attempt as soon as Flight 14.