Ship has splashed down.
SpaceX / MISSION BRIEFING
Flight 13
Starship V3 · Test Flight
Success
LAUNCH TIMEMISSION COMPLETETiming is subject to mission updates
Mission image · SpaceX
Mission overview
13th test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle. Second flight of Starship V3. For the first time, Starship will carry 20 V3 Starlink satellites to space, which will extend solar arrays and antennas and will attempt to connect with ground stations in South Africa and the larger Starlink constellation via high-capacity lasers. 6 of the satellites have been modified with a suite of cameras to scan Starship’s heat shield and transmit imagery down to operators to continue testing methods of analyzing Starship’s heat shield readiness for return to launch site on future missions. Several tiles on Starship have been painted white to simulate missing tiles and serve as imaging targets in the test.
- Mission
- Flight 13
- Mission type
- Test Flight
- Provider
- SpaceX
- Target orbit
- Suborbital
Timeline
Scheduled event sequence from Launch Library 2. These are planned milestones, not confirmed telemetry. Events remain unconfirmed until a verified source reports them.
GO for Prop Load
22:01 UTCLaunch director verifies go for propellant load
SCHEDULED
Stage 1 LOX Load
22:14 UTCStart of liquid oxygen loading in the first stage
SCHEDULED
Stage 1 LNG Load
22:16 UTCStart of liquid methane loading in the first stage
SCHEDULED
Stage 2 LNG Load
22:16 UTCStart of liquid methane loading in the second stage
SCHEDULED
Stage 2 LOX Load
22:16 UTCStart of liquid oxygen loading in the second stage
SCHEDULED
Engine Chill
22:29 UTCStart of engine chilling
SCHEDULED
Stage 1 Propellant Load Complete
22:48 UTCEnd of propellant loading in the first stage
SCHEDULED
Stage 2 Propellant Load Complete
22:48 UTCEnd of propellant loading in the second stage
SCHEDULED
GO for Launch
22:50 UTCLaunch director verifies go for launch
SCHEDULED
Flame Deflector Activation
22:50 UTCActivation of the flame deflector ahead of engine ignition
SCHEDULED
Ignition
22:50 UTCStart of the engine ignition sequence
SCHEDULED
Liftoff
22:51 UTCFirst upwards movement of the rocket
SCHEDULED
Excitement Guaranteed
22:51 UTCExcitement guaranteed
SCHEDULED
Max-Q
22:51 UTCMaximum dynamic pressure
SCHEDULED
MECO
22:53 UTCCut-off of the main engine
SCHEDULED
Stage 2 Separation
22:53 UTCSeparation of the second stage from the first
SCHEDULED
Booster Boostback Burn Startup
22:53 UTCStart of the booster boostback burn
SCHEDULED
Booster Boostback Burn Shutdown
22:54 UTCEnd of the booster boostback burn
SCHEDULED
Stage 1 Landing Burn
22:57 UTCStart of the first stage landing burn
SCHEDULED
Stage 1 Landing
22:57 UTCLanding of the first stage
SCHEDULED
SECO-1
22:59 UTCFirst cut-off of the second engine
SCHEDULED
Payload Deployment Sequence Start
23:07 UTCStart of the payload deployment sequence
SCHEDULED
Payload Deployment Sequence End
23:18 UTCEnd of the payload deployment sequence.
SCHEDULED
SEB-2
23:29 UTC2nd burn of the second engine
SCHEDULED
Atmospheric Entry
23:38 UTCStart of the atmospheric re-entry
SCHEDULED
Starship Transonic
23:53 UTCStarship passing through the transonic regime
SCHEDULED
Starship Subsonic
23:54 UTCStarship reaches a subsonic velocity
SCHEDULED
Starship Landing Burn
23:56 UTCStart of the Starship orbital stage landing burn
SCHEDULED
Landing Flip
23:56 UTCFlip maneuver to set the orientation for landing
SCHEDULED
Starship Landing
23:56 UTCLanding of the Starship orbital stage
SCHEDULED
Starship Landing
23:56 UTCLanding of the Starship orbital stage
SCHEDULED
Starship Landing
23:56 UTCLanding of the Starship orbital stage
SCHEDULED
Mission intelligence
Explore connectionsFlight hardware
Ship 40 · Suborbital
Mission activity
Listening for verified changes
Activity appears when ORBITAL observes a change between source records. No historical events are invented.
Read source update
Liftoff.
Unofficial Re-stream by SPACE AFFAIRS has started
Now targeting Jul 24 at 22:51 UTC
Rescheduled to July 24 due to launch site weather.
Delayed to NET July 23.
Setting GO.
NET July 20, TBC.
Reverted back to NET July TBD pending more information.
Scrubbed for the day.
Abort at ignition.
Unofficial Re-stream by SPACE AFFAIRS has started
Tweaked T-0.
Tweaked T-0.
GO for launch.
NET July 15, TBC.
NET July 14, TBC.
NET July.
Adding launch
Schedule history
No changes recorded
Changes are recorded when ORBITAL retrieves data. The detection time may differ from the time the source changed its information.
Rocket
Starship V3SpaceX · United StatesThird development version of the Starship reusable two-stage super heavy-lift launch vehicle.
Payload
Flight 13
Payload details are described in the mission overview. No independently structured payload manifest or payload mass has been provided by the source.
Target orbit
SCHEMATIC · NOT A FLIGHT TRAJECTORY
- Orbit
- Suborbital
- Classification
- Sub
Launch site
Orbital Launch Pad 2
SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA
- Latitude
- 25.99677°
- Longitude
- -97.15799°
- Country
- United States
- Time zone
- America/Chicago
Live & mission coverage
Official mission broadcast. Stream availability is controlled by the provider.
Sources
Source links and confidence are preserved with each mission. Official updates take priority when verified.
Launch Library 2high · P80
ll.thespacedevs.com · Updated Sep 20, 2026 02:17 UTCOfficial mission updatehigh · P100
www.spacex.com · Updated Sep 20, 2026 02:17 UTCMission referencemedium · P60
x.com · Updated Sep 20, 2026 02:17 UTCMission referencemedium · P60
www.youtube.com · Updated Sep 20, 2026 02:17 UTCMission referencemedium · P60
x.com · Updated Sep 20, 2026 02:17 UTCMission referencemedium · P60
www.fly.faa.gov · Updated Sep 20, 2026 02:17 UTCMission referencemedium · P60
x.com · Updated Sep 20, 2026 02:17 UTCMission referencemedium · P60
x.com · Updated Sep 20, 2026 02:17 UTCMission referencemedium · P60
x.com · Updated Sep 20, 2026 02:17 UTCMission photographs are provided by the original sources. Their rights remain with their creators; consult the source before reusing an image.