SpaceX confirmed the launch of the Starship mega-rocket for next Thursday, the 23rd. This flight, which was initially scheduled for the previous week (the 16th) and then rescheduled for the 20th, represents the thirteenth test of Starship.
Launch Details
The event is set for 7:45 PM Brasília time, with a 90-minute window, maintaining the same timing as previous schedules. The live broadcast will be conducted by Olhar Digital on its social media channels, starting the Olhar Digital News program at 7:30 PM.
Analysis of the Previous Attempt
In last week's test, SpaceX failed to put the Starship rocket into orbit. Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX, informed via X that the interruption occurred because some of the engines did not start, leading to an automatic shutdown of the launch. As a correction, he announced that two engines would be replaced.
Objectives of the New Flight
This new test flight aims to replicate the objectives of the previous mission, which marked the debut of the V3 versions of the Starship and Super Heavy vehicles. Additionally, this time, new generation Starlink V3 satellites will be transported for the first time.
Super Heavy Booster Goals
The main purpose of the Super Heavy booster is to successfully complete all initial phases of the flight. This includes launch, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn, and landing at a maritime landing site located in the Gulf of Mexico. To ensure this, the company implemented several modifications to both hardware and software to address the issues detected in the previous test.
Technical Corrections Implemented
During the stage separation in flight 12, small discrepancies in the activation of the Starship engines caused an misalignment of approximately 90 degrees in the Super Heavy's rotation maneuver. To prevent recurrence, the engine ignition sequence was adjusted to be more resilient to time variations and execute the desired rotation more safely. Furthermore, in flight 12, five out of 33 Super Heavy engines failed to reignite after separation, prematurely ending the maneuver. The new flight will feature hardware modifications to increase engine reignition reliability, along with updates to alert and abort systems.
Upper Stage Missions
The Starship upper stage has three primary goals: to place 20 Starlink V3 satellites into suborbital orbit, to perform a Raptor engine reignition in space, and to execute another controlled atmospheric entry, followed by descent and splashdown in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX also made adjustments to the propulsion system to resolve the engine failure that occurred previously. In the past mission, about 40 seconds after separation, the craft lost one of its three Raptor engines optimized for vacuum, but managed to maintain the planned suborbital trajectory even with one inoperative engine.
Starlink V3 Satellite Updates
For the first time, Starship will carry Starlink V3 satellites, designed to substantially expand the network capacity and increase speed for users. In this initial test, the craft should release 20 satellites, which, after separation, will activate solar panels and antennas to attempt connection to the Starlink constellation via high-capacity lasers. The satellites will remain in the Starship's suborbital trajectory and will be destroyed during atmospheric reentry, about 20 minutes after being released.
Thermal Shield Inspection
Six of the satellites were equipped with cameras to inspect the Starship's thermal shield during the flight, transmitting images to ground teams. The goal is to continue evaluating methods for analyzing the thermal shield conditions for future return missions. As part of this experiment, some plates of the vehicle's thermal coating were painted white to simulate missing parts and serve as targets for the cameras.
Thermal Shield Experiments
In addition to satellite inspections, the mission will include tests of improvements and experiments related to the thermal shield, aiming for the development of a fully reusable vehicle with rapid turnaround for new flights. Among the tests are the installation of multiple thermal plates on the metallic part of the rear flaps and the use of modified plates with new fastening mechanisms in the area of the rear skirt's thermal shield, with the aim of collecting data on different fastening methods. Starship will also use plates with load sensors to measure the stresses experienced by the thermal shield during ascent, as this mission will face dynamic pressure higher than in previous flights, increasing stress on fastenings for greater orbital payload capacity.
Starship Flight History
The flight history includes: Flight 1 in April 2023, where Starship exploded attached to Super Heavy due to engine failures; Flight 2 in November 2023, which allowed initial separation but resulted in the booster's explosion and loss of Starship; Flight 3 in March 2024, which progressed despite the loss before landing; Flight 4 in June 2024, with controlled landing of Starship in the Indian Ocean and Super Heavy in the Gulf of Mexico; Flight 5 in October 2024, which enabled the capture of Super Heavy on the launch tower and a controlled reentry of Starship; Flight 6 in November 2024, with controlled booster landing and in-space engine reignition; Flight 7 in January 2025, which ended in an explosion; Flight 8 in March 2025, where the upper stage lost stability and was destroyed; Flight 9 in May 2025, which marked the first reuse of Super Heavy, but with experimental failures; Flight 10 in August 2025, fulfilling objectives such as satellite simulator tests and controlled reentry; Flight 11 in October 2025, successfully concluding the V2 phase, including controlled landings; and Flight 12 in May 2026, which was the first test of the V3 version, showing advances such as launching simulators and modified Starlink satellites, but suffering engine reignition failure on Super Heavy.
