Thirteenth Launch of SpaceX Starship Delayed Due to Last-Minute Issue

Today, at 0:45 AM (Italian time), the SpaceX Starship rocket was scheduled to launch for its thirteenth suborbital flight (Flight 13). Everything appeared to be ready with the loading of propellants for Ship 40 and Super Heavy Booster 20 completed as planned a few minutes before the actual launch. However, a last-minute problem led to the launch being halted and postponed to a later date.

The alarm systems and "hold" procedures stopped the launch of Starship from Pad 2 of Starbase for the thirteenth mission while the causes are still under investigation. No particular problems have been reported with the hardware, which should be able to complete the mission in the coming days, after engineers and technicians determine the origin of the issue.

Elon Musk wrote in a post on X that "some engines did not ignite, triggering the automatic launch hold. Propellant is now being discharged. The next launch attempt, hopefully, will be in a few days." Further information should be available in the coming hours (at the latest, in the next few days) with data review. According to official graphics during the launch, four atmospheric Raptor 3 engines from the intermediate ring were involved in the failure to ignite, thus reducing the theoretical thrust and potentially causing issues during both ascent and the booster’s re-entry.

It’s worth noting that Flight 13 of Starship was supposed to be similar, but not identical, to Flight 12. Super Heavy Booster 20 was expected to complete its landing in the Gulf of Mexico, overcoming problems from the previous flight to provide sufficient guarantees for a potential capture through Mechazilla during Flight 14. As for Ship 40, the second stage was set to deploy 20 Starlink V3 satellites, no longer mockups, capable of connecting to ground stations in South Africa and the existing constellation via optical links (lasers).

Six of these satellites also have cameras capable of capturing images of the thermal shield to analyze its performance after ascent. Being positioned on a suborbital trajectory, their operational life is limited to about 20 minutes (after which they re-enter the atmosphere, destroying themselves). Insulation tiles with sensors to collect data during moments of maximum mechanical stress have also been added. Another interesting aspect of this flight will be Ship 40's ability to reignite an atmospheric Raptor 3 engine in space, an unsuccessful attempt in the previous test due to a RVac engine not functioning correctly.