SpaceX had to abort the planned launch on July 16th of its giant Starship rocket because of anxieties over some of its powerful Raptor engines.

The revised date, subject to the usual weather and technical considerations, is July 23rd and will see Starship #13’s crucial test launch from SpaceX’s Starbase in South Texas. Launch is scheduled for 5.45pm (Texas time).

The launch comes a few days after the Federal Aviation Commission (FAA) ended its investigation into the launch of Starship #12 on July 13th and gave the go-ahead for #13 launch to happen. The FAA oversaw and accepted the findings and corrective actions of the SpaceX investigation into the #12 mishap.

“To be confident of a good flight, 2 Raptors will be removed & replaced. Most probable launch timing is early next week,” Musk said on July 16th via X, the social media platform he controls.

This test flight, #13, is the most important to be scheduled. SpaceX is targeting July 23 for the second Version 3 Starship flight, which will be powered by 33 Raptor 3 engines and designed for more payload, faster reuse, and eventually to help take humans to the Moon and Mars.

The rocket will also carry and deploy 20 of the latest designed Starlink Version-3 satellites. Each satellite is designed to deliver more than 10-times the capacity of Starlink V2 ‘Mini’, while a full Starship load could add 20-times the network capacity of a traditional Falcon 9 launch.

Flight #13 will also test an in-space Raptor relight, controlled re-entry to a water landing in the Gulf of Mexico for the booster, heat shield upgrades to the rocket, and critical improvements to the booster.

Six satellites are equipped with cameras to image Starship’s heat shield (several tiles painted white as imaging targets) to develop methods for assessing tile readiness ahead of future return-to-launch-site attempts.

Tasks for the launch

▪︎ Deploy 20 Starlink V3 satellites (first V3 test flight).

▪︎ Perform a single Raptor engine relight in space.

▪︎ Execute controlled entry, descent, and splashdown in the Indian Ocean for the main rocket.

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Tags: starlink, starship