SpaceX Prepares Starship's 13th Test Flight With First Starlink V3 Satellites

SpaceX is preparing for Starship's 13th test flight as soon as Thursday, with a launch window opening at 5:45 p.m. CDT from Starbase, Texas. The mission will carry 20 Starlink V3 satellites, the first real satellites flown on Starship, replacing mass simulators used on previous flights. Engineers will attempt to establish laser communication links between the Starlink V3 satellites and existing Starlink spacecraft in low-Earth orbit to validate interoperability. The flight profile mirrors the May mission: a suborbital trajectory arcing halfway around the world to a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia, while the Starlink satellites burn up on reentry. SpaceX's newest Starship version will fly for the second time.