The Aborted Attempt
Scrub.
SpaceX cancelled the Starship Flight 13 mission just as they reached T-0.
The automated flight computer triggered a hold and abort. No one knows exactly why yet, but happening this late in the countdown guarantees the launch is over for today. Dan Huot, the livestream host, said the system flagged the booster right as the Raptor engines began to ignite.
The show is off.
“At this point,” Huot explained as the stream ended, “they’re going to get into propellant offload. We’re gonna get the methane, the oxygen, everything off the vehicle, and then we’ll figure out next steps.”
A new date is currently blank.
What Went Right Before It Didn’t
Up until the very last second, things looked smooth.
SpaceX entered the terminal count. One minute to liftoff.
Fueling proceeded without issue. The probability of favorable weather started at 90%, which gave Huot and his colleagues plenty of confidence. If today had gone as planned, it would have unlocked “near future orbital flights.” It might also have featured the first attempt to catch the upper stage with the launch tower chokes—a move that didn’t happen because the rocket never left the pad.
Liftoff was set for 6:45 p.m. EDT.
The 90-minute window is now gone.
Building the Beast
The delay ends a day of significant prep work.
Earlier in the process, SpaceX moved the hardware into place. Super Heavy booster B20 rolled out to Pad 2 on July 15. Ship S40 followed later that day after sunset. They both passed static fire tests using the new Raptor 3 engines. Then they sat in hangars for final checkouts.
Stacking them together happens overnight.
By the afternoon of July 16, the full tower was upright at Starbase in Texas. Road and beach closures went into effect around 1:30 p.m., clearing the area for non-essential personnel. It looked ready. The infrastructure was ready.
What happened at T-0 remains a question.
Flight 13 carries upgraded Starlink Version 3 payloads. It marks the second use of the Version 3 hardware, which is larger and more powerful than earlier models. Only time will tell when SpaceX tries again. 🚀
