SpaceX has pushed its next Starship Flight 13 launch attempt to Friday after scrubbing Thursday's planned window due to unacceptable weather conditions, continuing a challenging sequence for the program that began with an abort at engine ignition last week.
What Happened
The initial launch attempt on July 16 aborted at T-0 when only 29 of 33 engines ignited during engine start. CEO Elon Musk confirmed: 'Some of the engines didn't start, triggering an automatic launch abort.' This marked the first-ever full-stack ignition abort for the Starship program. SpaceX subsequently destacked both Ship 40 and Booster 20 and rolled them back to their respective bays for work that included replacing at least four Raptor engines (E4, E5, E6, E12, and E13). After completing a leak check of the replaced engines on July 22, SpaceX restacked Ship 40 onto Booster 20 at Pad 2 and confirmed a new launch window for July 23 with a 90-minute opportunity starting at 5:45 pm CDT. Weather was flagged as a significant watch item ahead of that attempt, leading to Thursday's scrub and the move to Friday.
Why It Matters
The engine ignition failure represents an uncommon setback for SpaceX's rapidly iterating test program. The company has maintained a pace of multiple flights per year with Starship Block 3, but each delay shifts the timeline for upcoming milestones including potential payload deployments and continued booster catch attempts at the tower. Weather-related scrubs add further uncertainty to schedule projections that investors and commercial customers track closely as SpaceX advances toward operational status.
The Bottom Line
SpaceX is targeting Friday for Starship Flight 13 following weather that scrubbed Thursday's planned window, one week after an engine ignition failure triggered a T-0 abort during the initial attempt. The vehicles have since undergone engine replacements and testing before being restacked at Starbase Pad 2.