28.07.2026
‘I was speechless’: Thousands cheer as SpaceX’s Starship Flight 13 finally launches after delays
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (ValleyCentral) — After two scrubbed launch attempts, SpaceX’s Starship Flight 13 finally lifted off Friday, rewarding thousands of spectators who waited days to witness the historic test flight.
According to SpaceX, the mission achieved all of its primary objectives, including deploying 20 Starlink satellites and completing successful splashdowns of both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship vehicle.
For many who traveled to South Texas, the successful launch made the extra wait worthwhile.
“I was speechless, I was actually just astonished, like awe-struck. Couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” said Edinburg resident Hector Martinez.
As Starship thundered into the sky, spectators described feeling the rocket’s power long after it left the launch pad.
“I was just frozen. Staring at the rocket with my mouth wide open. It was like a thousand gunshots going off right after another. I felt it in my chest, in my ears. Incredible,” Martinez said.
Some families extended their vacations after the first two launch attempts were scrubbed, hoping the third countdown would finally end with liftoff.
“It was worth the wait,” Gina Micek of Nebraska said. “It was something that has been on our bucket list to do, and it was nice to see all the people that showed up. There was some cheering in the end.”
Her husband, Joe Micek, said experiencing the launch in person was unlike anything he had imagined.
“To be here in person, to hear it and to feel that rocket, I’m just impressed. I’m glad we spent the time to put it on our schedule,” Micek said.
The excitement wasn’t limited to Texans. Families from around the world traveled to the Rio Grande Valley for the launch.
The Kolliver family, visiting from Switzerland, changed their California road trip plans and made a 21-hour detour to see Starship launch.
“You really felt the power of the rocket,” William Kolliver said. “It was loud, of course. It was incredible.”
Others stumbled upon the launch by chance.
“I’m not super big into this stuff, but I wanted to check it out,” California resident Steve Klopping said. “I camped about 500 feet away from the rocket, barbecued right in front of it, and then watched it take off. I can feel it in my chest, in my eardrums. The sign was there rattling, and I watched it. It was pretty cool.”
Even longtime Starship followers said Flight 13 stood out.
“I’ve watched 11 of these go up,” Harlingen resident Gary Gardner said. “I’ve been through many scrubs, so you get used to the emotions. But it was finally worth it.”
For many in the crowd, the launch represented more than another successful test flight. It was another milestone in SpaceX’s effort to develop a spacecraft capable of carrying humans to the Moon and eventually Mars.
While Flight 13 is now complete, SpaceX has not announced a launch date for Starship Flight 14.
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SpaceX plans Starship tower catch for next test flight, Elon Musk announces
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announces SpaceX will attempt to catch Starship with the tower on the next scheduled test flight.
Following the anticipated thirteenth Starship test flight, Musk posted on X that, “unless [SpaceX] discover problems after mission data review,” they are attempting to catch the Starship back at the tower.
During the thirteenth test flight, the Super Heavy Booster successfully ignited all 33 engines before ascending over the Gulf, completed the stage separation and successfully ignited again before experiencing a hard splashdown in the Gulf, according to SpaceX.
Additionally, SpaceX reported that during the test flight, Starship successfully deployed all 20 Starlink V3 satellites, completing all of its primary objectives.
SpaceX has yet to announce a launch date for Starship Flight 14.
Quelle: ValleyCentral.com
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Update: 23.08.2026
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Ship 41 Completes Engine Testing Ahead of Flight 14
While Ship 40 is preparing to be transported back to Starbase from Christmas Island, Ship 41 has completed both of its static fires and will soon roll back to Mega Bay 2 for final flight preps. Booster 21, however, is still in Mega Bay 1 undergoing preflight work.
Flight 14
Ship 41 rolled out to Massey’s on Aug 18 for its engine testing campaign; this timing lines up with Ship 39 and Ship 40 in terms of the time from cryo proof to static fire testing.
While out at Massey’s, Ship 41 completed a pair of static fires; the first one was a single-engine deorbit burn demonstration, and the second was the full ~60-second six-engine static fire.
The single-engine static fire repeated what SpaceX performed with Ship 40; loading took slightly longer, and the Liquid Oxygen tank was filled only halfway. Once loading was complete, SpaceX held the propellant in the tanks for 25 minutes to let the propellant temperature rise.
They did this to simulate the conditions in the vehicle during a deorbit burn; teams can’t replicate everything, though, like microgravity, but they can get close enough to get good enough data.
The next test was the normal six-engine 60-second static fire. However, the tank farm spool-up was not smooth, as SpaceX appeared to have issues with the methane side, resulting in a multi-hour delay in completing the static fire.
Once SpaceX worked through the tank farm issues, it completed a full-duration static fire of Ship 41.
Next steps include rolling Ship 41 back to Mega Bay 2 for final work and eventually loading the payload. Currently, a road closure was in place for a rollback very early on Aug 22. However, that has been postponed.
With Ship 40, the timeline from six-engine static fire to launch attempt was 16 days; however, this will likely be the first ship to go into orbit and might carry even more Starlinks than Ship 40, so SpaceX might take more time to make sure this ship is perfect.
Ship 41’s other half, Booster 21, has been in Mega Bay 1 getting ready for static fire and flight since completing cryoproof testing on July 20. It is unknown when Booster 21 will head out to Pad 2 for a static fire, but SpaceX is likely taking its time to make sure everything with this booster is perfect; the teams do not want another boost-back burn or landing burn failure.
As for when Flight 14 might lift off, the CADENA Space operations presentation that covers space traffic each week currently lists a No Earlier Than (NET) for Starship Flight 14 set for Sept 15.
Before this past week, the NET was set for Aug 28; this could reflect ongoing work on Booster 21, but it is only an advisory. So far, SpaceX has not provided a concrete NET date for Flight 14.
As for what Flight 14 is set to accomplish, it is currently predicted to be a fully orbital flight and serve as an operational Starlink mission. This would likely entail a perigee-raising burn following the initial ascent burn, then deploying the V3 Starlinks into orbit. After that, it is unclear how long Ship 41 would remain in orbit before SpaceX decided to return the ship to Earth.
Based on posts from Eric Berger of Ars Technica and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, it seems unlikely SpaceX will go for a Ship catch with Ship 41. This would mean that a return would likely be a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, either near Hawaii or off the coast of Chile.
Pad 2 has been getting modifications ahead of Flight 14 as well; so far, several new steel burn plates have been added to the flame trench walls just below the four main legs of the launch mount.
These were likely added because SpaceX might be seeing deterioration in the flame trench walls and needs to ensure that the walls don’t lose too much material. This is likely a stopgap measure until SpaceX figures out what kind of extra deluge to add to the trench to prevent this in the future.
The tower itself has also been modified; a new cryo line has been added, which should allow SpaceX to return LOX during chilldown to the new LOX buffer tanks. This will prevent LOX from spilling onto the roof of the drawworks at the base of the tower, which isn’t great for the machinery inside.
Additional shielding has also been added to the bolts that help hold the tower columns to the base of the tower. Lastly, more attachment points have been added to the tower parts facing the launch mount for additional cladding to cover up to the Ship quick disconnect arm.
Ship 40
While Flight 14 preparations are underway, SpaceX is still dealing with the aftermath of Flight 13. Ship 40 is still alive and floating in the Indian Ocean after floating and being towed about 1,700 km. For the past couple of weeks, SpaceX has attempted to tow Ship 40 to the western coast of Australia; however, none of the methods worked, and rough seas forced them to abandon the attempt.
After just tying a tow rope around one of the center Raptor engines, the Normand Ranger towed Ship 40 to Christmas Island, where the ship is currently parked offshore.
The ship is now awaiting a heavy-lift semi-submersible named the Forte; a semi-submersible can lower itself into the water, allowing a ship or other hardware to float over the deck. The ship will then refloat itself, thus picking up that cargo out of the water.
Currently, this ship is set to arrive off Christmas Island around Aug 23; assuming loading takes around a week, the ship then has to make the 13,000 nm trek back to Starbase. This trip at 12 knots or so will take nearly 50 days, depending on the route SpaceX contracts for, which would mean a return to Starbase by mid to late October.
With Ship 40 just offshore of Christmas Island, a few people have gotten very detailed and up-close images of the ship. And the Indian Ocean, plus the attempts to tow the ship, have not been kind to it.
A few of the Raptor engine bells are damaged, alongside a ton of corrosion in the open engine bay. The fwd flaps are heavily damaged, and there is a decent amount of damage to the heat shield around the payload bay; both are likely due to an attempt to wrap a tow line around the catch points, which slipped and damaged the ship.
Either way, it’s impressive that Ship 40 is still floating, and eventually it seems it will make its triumphant return to Starbase, possibly by the end of October.
Quelle: NSF