Starship to fly again Texas. Why the launch is critical for SpaceX

SpaceX has big plans for Starship during its 13th test flight from South Texas as the pressure is on for the rocket to be ready for missions to the moon and Mars.

For just the second time in 2026, SpaceX is preparing to launch the world's largest rocket.

Starship, the commercial spaceflight company's super heavy-lift launch vehicle, is due to get off the ground in South Texas on the heels of a largely successful May flight test.

And as usual, the stakes are high for SpaceX and its chief executive, tech mogul Elon Musk. The upcoming flight will be the 13th for Starship overall, including its April 2023 debut, and the second for SpaceX's new prototype that serves as the largest iteration of the rocket to date.

The pressure is on for SpaceX, which is working under a strict deadline to have Starship ready for NASA's fast-approaching moon landing missions. Musk, of course, also still dreams of sending the rocket on interplanetary voyages to Mars.

Here's everything to know about the next Starship launch, which SpaceX refers to as flight 13.

When is the next Starship launch date?

SpaceX is working toward a Thursday, July 16, launch of its Starship rocket, the company announced. The launch window is due to open from 5:45 to 7:15 p.m. CT.

Where does Starship launch?

As it has since its maiden launch in April 2023, Starship will once again get off the ground from SpaceX's Starbase company town and headquarters in South Texas, about 180 miles south of Corpus Christi.

In May 2025, Texas voters in Cameron County - most of whom are SpaceX employees - approved a measure to officially recognize the company's headquarters as its own town, complete with a mayor and city commissioners.

What is Starship?

Starship is the massive rocket that SpaceX, the commercial company founded by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, has been testing since April 2023.

SpaceX is developing the rocket to be a fully reusable transportation system that can carry huge satellites and other payloads to space, meaning both the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions.

How tall is Starship? Is it the world's largest rocket?

Starship's most recent flight test in May marked the debut of SpaceX's third-generation prototype of the rocket. Standing at 407 feet tall when fully stacked, the new iteration of Starship - known as Version 3, or V3 - became the largest and most powerful rocket SpaceX has ever launched.

Similar to previous designs, the fully integrated Starship spacecraft is composed of both a 236-feet-tall lower-stage booster known as Super Heavy, as well as a 171-feet-tall upper stage simply called Starship.

What is SpaceX planning for flight 13?

For the next Starship test flight, SpaceX said it is aiming to complete similar objectives as the last launch in May in which it debuted its Version 3 prototype.

SpaceX plans to push the performance of the Super Heavy booster - responsible for the initial burst of thrust at liftoff - before it lands in the Gulf of Mexico, renamed in the U.S. under executive order as the Gulf of America. The upper stage, which is designed to eventually fly in orbit, will also be put to the test as it flies halfway around the world ahead of a landing in the Indian Ocean.

Starship to carry Starlink satellites to space

In a major first, Starship will be carrying 20 larger versions of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites that it will attempt to deliver into suborbital space. The satellites will deploy solar arrays and antennas while attempeting to connect with SpaceX's larger Starlink constellation higher up in orbit before they fall toward the ground and burn up in the atmosphere about 20 minutes later.

If this sounds familiar, that's because SpaceX has deployed mock Starlink satellites during previous Starship flight tests.

Why is SpaceX testing Starship? Elon Musk envisions colony on Mars

Musk's vision has long been for Starship to be an interplanetary vehicle that takes humans to Mars, where they can establish a self-sustaining colony. While the world's richest man has indicated that SpaceX will focus on building a lunar city first, the company has already announced a human-led expedition to Mars' orbit - though it has not set a target date.

In order for that to be possible, Starship will need to be capable of refueling midflight in a complex process that requires two Starships equipped with docking adapters to meet in orbit to transfer propellant. The maneuver is one SpaceX has yet to test.

NASA relies on Starship for Artemis moon missions

SpaceX is also under contract with NASA to develop a lunar lander configuration of its Starship to ferry astronauts to the moon, known as the Human Landing System.

NASA is relying on Starship to be ready for a mission due in 2027 known as Artemis III. SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin are competing to develop lunar landers for future crewed and uncrewed Artemis missions, both of which will be tested first in Earth orbit during the crewed Artemis III mission.

See photos of Starship rocket launches

What happened on the last Starship flight test in May?

During Starship's last flight test on May 22, the booster helped propel the upper stage on its journey before it made a water landing in the Gulf Coast.

The upper stage, sometimes referred to simply as 'Ship, then used its own six Raptor engines to fly halfway around the world before landing and exploding as expected in the Indian Ocean. Along the way, Starship succeeded in deploying 20 mock versions of SpaceX's Starlink satellites and two modified satellites that, in a major first, imaged Starship while it climbed into space.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected]