Starship’s 13th test flight was halted at the very last second last night after several Raptor engines failed to ignite, triggering an automatic abort sequence. The vehicle—SpaceX’s upgraded Starship V3 paired with the Super Heavy v3 booster—was fully fueled and moments away from liftoff at Starbase, South Texas, when the onboard systems detected the startup anomaly.
What happened during the abort At T‑0, just as the Super Heavy’s 33 Raptor engines began ignition, some engines failed to start. The flight computer immediately commanded an abort, shutting down the booster and holding the vehicle safely on the pad. SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot confirmed on the livestream that the hold occurred “as we were starting to light those Raptor engines.”
Elon Musk later stated that two Raptors will be removed and replaced to ensure a clean ignition sequence on the next attempt. He added that the most probable relaunch window is early next week, once engineers complete inspections and swap the engines.
Why Flight 13 matters; Flight 13 is the second test of the Starship V3 architecture, a major redesign intended to support future orbital missions, lunar landings for NASA, and eventually Mars transport. The previous flight (Flight 12, May 22) was mostly successful but revealed issues with booster recovery and upper‑stage engine relight—problems SpaceX aims to resolve with this iteration.
This mission also carries 20 fully functional Starlink V3 satellites, marking their first real‑environment deployment test. These satellites will be released on a suborbital trajectory, perform about 20 minutes of communications and deployment checks, then reenter. The V3 generation is significantly more powerful, with major antenna and bandwidth upgrades.
Starlink satellite version 3
Financial and program implications. This scrubbed launch was SpaceX’s first Starship attempt since going public in June 2026. Following the abort, SpaceX stock briefly dipped below its $135 IPO price, closing at $131.11. Investors are watching Starship closely, as its success underpins NASA’s Artemis lunar lander program, the expansion of the Starlink network, and SpaceX’s long‑term Mars ambitions.
What’s next SpaceX teams are now offloading propellant, inspecting the booster, and preparing for the next launch window. With engine replacements underway, the company expects to attempt Flight 13 again within a few days. The next attempt will aim to complete: Full booster ascent Stage separation Boost back and landing burn for a controlled splashdownUpper‑stage coast and heat‑shield testing Deployment and testing of Starlink V3 satellites.
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