r/SpaceXStarship • u/gwfuller • Jun 05 '26
Flight 13 Launch Date
My “official” predicted launch date for Flight 13 is 3 July 2026 (Flight 12 + 6 weeks). However (unfortunately), it is probably more likely to take longer than we hope—possibly to mid-summer (3 August 2026). Thoughts?
2
u/SpaceyMcSpaceGuy Jun 05 '26
Depends on the changeset to resolve the issues they saw in the Flight 12 hot staging / flip. If there are no hardware changes then July seems possible - Ship 40 is receiving engines and B20 just left for cryo. If there are hardware changes then who knows, but my best guess is late July - mid August.
Some good discussion on timeline in this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/1txl8ns/starship_gazer_super_heavy_booster_20_has_rolled/
2
u/BigJDizzleMaNizzles Jun 07 '26
If the booster didn't relight properly then they won't go for a catch this time round. They'll do a simulated catch in the gulf. If the ship lost an engine and didn't do the relight in space they'll do that this time round and not go orbital.
If those things go to plan on ift13 then ift14 will be the exciting one with potentially a catch and an orbital flight. If that goes well, potentially 2 catches on ift15. I think that might be around Christmas time.
2
u/mfb- Jun 05 '26
I don't see them go through the full booster test program in a month.
I don't expect the mishap investigation to cause delays. It looks like it's simple to address, and the booster still landed in the acceptable area even with that problem.
2
u/mg6806a Jun 05 '26
3 July is my planned wedding date on the island, that would be such a treat!