Starship Flight 13

SpaceX's Starship fully reusable rocket is set to fly its 13th flight test very soon!

Starship booster and ship are ready for launch from Starbase, Texas, with Booster-20 recently performing a 20-second static fire test with little to no issue. Both Ship and Booster have been transported to the launch site ahead of flight

Here is what to expect

Flight 13 will replicate the Flight 12 mission profile following Flight 12 falling slightly short of its mission objectives. This flight will test to demonstrate nominal booster and ship ascent performance, with booster planning to do a partial boost-back burn and attempt to demonstrate a soft water landing in the Gulf off the coast of Starbase, TX.

Following an expected Ship insertion into a pre-defined sub-orbital trajectory, Ship will deploy 20 Starlink Version 3 operational satellites. These satellites will test their orientation systems and communications systems. The satellites will attempt to connect to the Starlink constellation; this is critical for future orbital Starlink V3 flights aboard Starship. Six of these Starlinks will be tasked with scanning Ship's heatshield ahead of re-entry.

Around 40 minutes into flight, Starship Version 3 ship with Raptor 3 engines will re-light a single sea-level Raptor Engine in space to simulate a Ship de-orbit burn. This burn will be a posi-grade burn and only last ~10 seconds in duration.

Approximately 50 minutes into flight, Ship will start the re-entry phase, re-entering Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean. During this time, the 20 Starlink satellites will meet their demise, burning up in the upper atmosphere.

Ship will continue through re-entry in a controlled manner, dissipating energy – then around 1 hour into the flight Ship will demonstrate a "Return To Launch Site" (RTLS) maneuver, demonstrating cross-range capabilities. Finally, Ship will re-light all three Sea-Level Raptor engines 1 hour and 5 minutes into the mission and perform the iconic flip maneuver. Ship will down-select to 2 engines, then make a soft water landing on 1 Raptor Sea-Level engine, marking the end of the mission.

Forward Thinking

What this mission means for Starship if successful –

This mission will prove to SpaceX that Starship is ready for long-duration operational orbital flights. Depending on the outcome of Flight 13, we may see a fully orbital flight from Starbase, Texas on Flight 14.

In this event, Flight 14 will likely deploy ~20 Version 3 Starlink satellites to a ~32.5-degree inclination. It is still "up in the air" whether Ship will return for a tower catch for this flight or re-enter in a pre-defined area for demise. It is likely they will plan to catch Ship on the first orbital flight of Ship, assuming all on-orbit criteria are met.

GODSPEED STARSHIP!