SpaceX is set to launch Starship on its 13th test flight today, with a 90-minute window opening at 6:45 p.m. EDT (2245 GMT) from Pad 2 at Starbase, Texas. The mission is the second flight of the v3 Starship.

Tonight's vehicle pairs Ship 40 with Super Heavy Booster 20, the second Block 3 booster to fly. Like its predecessor, Booster 20 carries 33 Raptor 3 engines, an integrated hot-staging interstage, and just three grid fins in place of the four used on earlier vehicles.

No matter what, excitement is guaranteed. But we should be getting treated with some awesome views tonight.

The flight profile closely mirrors Flight 12, which fell short of several objectives. On that mission, a hot-staging sequence error left Super Heavy 90 degrees off its intended orientation after separation, and its boostback burn was cut short when five of the 33 engines failed to relight. 

This time, things should go a lot better.

For Flight 13, SpaceX has introduced a modified engine start-up sequence for Ship and hardware changes to the booster to address the orientation and ignition faults, along with revised engine alarms and abort logic tuned to the multi-engine flight environment. The FAA closed its Flight 12 investigation on 13 July, accepting the corrective actions and clearing the way for tonight's attempt.

Ship 40 will again fly a suborbital trajectory. After stage separation the upper stage is tasked with deploying 20 Starlink V3 satellites, the first functional units of the new generation, which will extend solar arrays and antennas and test laser links with ground stations and the wider constellation. 

Six carry camera suites to inspect Starship's heat shield in flight, continuing the thermal-protection assessment begun on Flight 12. Because of the suborbital path, all 20 satellites are expected to re-enter and burn up roughly 20 minutes after deployment.

Join us tonight! We are looking forward to watch this one with you!