SpaceX Starship Flight 13 launches today, first attempt to catch upper stage with launch tower, deploys Starlink V3
SpaceX targets 6:45pm EDT today for Starship Flight 13, its second V3 launch, after a July 16 try aborted at T-0 when Raptor engines failed to ignite. The mission will attempt the first-ever catch of Starship's upper stage by the launch tower and deploy the first Starlink V3 sate
SpaceX is targeting 6:45 p.m. EDT today for the launch of Starship Flight 13 from its Starbase, Texas facility, the second flight of the company's upgraded Starship V3 configuration. The rocket's first launch attempt on July 16 was aborted at T-0 when several of the Super Heavy booster's 33 Raptor 3 engines failed to ignite. SpaceX swapped out two of the engines before standing down for a second attempt, which then slipped from July 20 to today. If the countdown proceeds, the mission will attempt something SpaceX has not done before: catching Starship's upper stage, known as Ship, using the mechanical arms on the launch tower at Pad 2. SpaceX has previously caught the Super Heavy booster this way, but the upper stage has not yet been recovered by tower catch. The flight will also deploy the company's first-ever Starlink V3 satellites. Catching the upper stage rather than just the booster is the harder half of the reusability problem SpaceX has been working toward since Starship's first test flights, since it is the stage that returns from orbital velocity rather than a suborbital hop. Source: Space.com