SpaceX Completes Static Fire for Starship Flight 13

SpaceX has completed a static fire test of the Super Heavy booster for its 13th Starship test flight. The test on July 10 paves the way for a potential launch as early as July 15.

Booster 20 underwent a 25-second engine burn. The vehicle, equipped with 33 upgraded Raptor 3 engines, ignited just before 11 a.m. EDT on July 10 at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas. It marks the second Version 3 booster to reach the pad for testing.

Preparations included transporting Booster 20 to the pad on July 9 and hoisting it with the launch tower's Mechazilla arms. Boca Chica beach closed around 8 a.m. EDT that day as fuel transferred to the pad's tank farm ahead of propellant loading.

Flight 13 targets the same mission profile as Flight 12. The upcoming test will use Ship 40 and Booster 20 to continue shaking out Version 3 hardware. It follows the basic timeline of Flight 12, which launched in May as the first V3 mission with mixed success.

SpaceX flew a more conservative profile on Flight 12 than many prior tests. The objectives for Flight 13 focus on resolving remaining kinks in the V3 design according to the source report.

The test advances Starship toward operational status. Successful completion of the static fire sets the stage for the launch, per an FAA notice. SpaceX aims for the mission to enable further technology demonstrations required before full operations.

Those demonstrations include retrieval of both stages back at the Starbase launch pad for refurbishment and reuse on future flights. The FAA notice indicates the launch could occur as early as Wednesday, July 15.