SpaceX is targeting July 31, 2026 for Starship Flight 13, the second flight of the new V3 hardware. It will lift off from Orbital Launch Pad 2 at Starbase in South Texas.
The vehicle stack is Super Heavy Booster 20 and Starship Ship 40, both brand-new V3 vehicles. SpaceX completed a cryogenic proof test on Booster 20 on June 7, and on June 26 ran a full-duration static fire of a central Raptor 3 engine on Ship 40, lasting around 15 seconds. Both tests came back clean.
The mission profile repeats the suborbital trajectory from Flight 12 rather than attempting a full orbital path. That may seem conservative given that V3 is already flying, but the team wants clean data on the new engines and structural loads before pushing for orbit again.
Starship V3 had its first flight on May 22, 2026. As of late June, the vehicle has flown 12 times across all versions, with 7 full successes and 5 failures. The failure rate has dropped significantly with each generation.
Worth noting: "targeting July 31" remains a target, not a commitment. SpaceX launch dates for Starship have historically slipped, and the window depends on FAA regulatory sign-off as well as technical readiness. Flight 14, if Flight 13 goes well, is expected to attempt the first full orbital insertion with payload deployment.
Key takeaways
- Starship Flight 13 targets July 31, 2026 from Starbase, Texas
- Uses new V3 vehicles: Booster 20 and Ship 40
- Suborbital flight profile, matching Flight 12
- Booster 20 cryo test June 7 and Ship 40 static fire June 26 both nominal