SpaceX Starship: Super Heavy Booster 20 Ignites Its 33 Engines Ahead of July Launch

Yesterday, China successfully launched the new Long March 10B rocket, recovering the first stage and marking an important moment for the human space program. Meanwhile, SpaceX is working to launch the reusable Starship rocket again for Flight 13, scheduled for the end of July.

At the end of June, a preliminary long-duration static fire of a single engine was performed for the second stage Ship 40, simulating what could happen during Flight 13, reaching a new milestone with the re-ignition of a thruster in space useful for orbital maneuvers. This goal was already anticipated during Flight 12, but due to an issue with one of the Raptor 3 Vacuum engines, SpaceX chose not to carry out this procedure.

A few days later, at the beginning of July, Ship 40 returned to the Massey test site for a new static fire, this time using all the engines (3 atmospheric Raptor 3s and 3 vacuum-optimized Raptor 3s). Everything seems to have gone smoothly, making the possibility of a launch around mid-month more tangible, although there are still a few steps left before this can happen.

Full-duration, 33-engine static fire of Super Heavy V3 — SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 10, 2026

In recent hours, the first stage Super Heavy Booster 20 for Starship Flight 13 has also been brought to Pad 2 of Starbase for a static fire with all 33 atmospheric Raptor 3 engines. Once the data is reviewed and SpaceX ensures the vehicle is in suitable condition, we can expect to see the complete assembly of Starship, followed by a Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) and finally the installation of the Flight Termination System (FTS) before proceeding to the actual launch.

The path to launch is filled with obstacles and success is only possible through the tireless efforts of many working together towards a common goal. “Critical Path” continues the ongoing Starship series, following SpaceX engineers through the final days before launch. — SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 10, 2026

SpaceX has also released a new video showing previously unseen footage from Flight 12, featuring comments from company personnel actively working at all levels to create Starship. Among the most spectacular scenes are those related to the explosion of Ship 39 after landing off the coast of Australia, with the buoy capturing the moment it was hit by a COPV (Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel) violently and swiftly moving away from Ship after it exploded.