Key Takeaways
Pre-market trading saw SPCX shares decline 1.73% following another Starship Flight 13 postponement
Tropical Storm Bertha’s cloud coverage over South Texas forced Thursday’s cancellation
Clear atmospheric conditions are essential for capturing critical heat shield photography during launch
The mission has now been pushed back twice — the initial delay stemmed from an automated abort on July 16 triggered by engine ignition problems
The rescheduled launch window on Friday begins at 5:45 p.m. CT and extends for 90 minutes
Shares of SpaceX (SPCX) dropped 1.73% during pre-market hours on Thursday following the company’s announcement that Starship Flight 13 would be postponed once more, with a new target date of Friday, July 24.
The postponement stemmed from adverse weather conditions linked to Tropical Storm Bertha sweeping across South Texas. According to SpaceX, heavy cloud coverage would obstruct ground-based cameras from obtaining essential imagery of Starship’s thermal protection system during the vehicle’s climb — a critical data collection goal for this particular mission.
The aerospace manufacturer announced the schedule change via X, noting that Friday’s launch opportunity would maintain the identical 90-minute timeframe beginning at 5:45 p.m. Central Time.
Now targeting Friday, July 24 for Starship’s thirteenth flight test, due to weather.
A key objective for the flight test is to get clear imagery from the ground of Starship’s heatshield as it flies at a higher dynamic pressure during ascent, which won't be possible with today's… pic.twitter.com/O4qyJaXjVs
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 23, 2026
Flight 13 has now encountered its second postponement within a two-week span. The initial launch attempt on July 16 resulted in an automatic abort sequence triggered at T-0 when four of the 33 Raptor engines on Super Heavy Booster 20 failed to achieve ignition.
SpaceX dedicated the subsequent week to unstacking the integrated vehicle, replacing two Raptor engines, conducting thorough leak inspections, and reassembling the stack on Pad 2 — only to face another setback due to meteorological conditions.
In contrast to the mechanical complications, Thursday’s scrub is purely atmospheric. The company requires high-quality video documentation of Starship’s heat shield performance as the vehicle passes through maximum aerodynamic stress, and the storm’s persistent cloud layer rendered that objective unattainable.
Flight 13 represents a significant milestone as it carries 20 production-grade Starlink V3 satellites — marking the first time SpaceX has loaded actual operational payloads onto Starship instead of mass simulators. This factor alone elevates the importance of this test flight, regardless of its eventual launch date.
Half a dozen of these satellites feature integrated cameras specifically designed to monitor the heat shield from orbital altitude, providing engineers with an alternative data stream to complement the ground-based photography currently hindered by weather conditions.
Mission Profile Distinctions
Flight 13 represents the second deployment of the V3 iterations of both Starship and Super Heavy, which made their initial appearance during Flight 12 in May.
Booster 20 is programmed to execute a boostback maneuver followed by a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of America, while Ship 40 will follow a suborbital trajectory culminating in an Indian Ocean landing zone.
The booster’s flight profile includes a more intense ascent burn phase following maximum dynamic pressure compared to the Flight 12 configuration. Additionally, Ship 40’s thermal protection system incorporates force-measuring tiles engineered to record structural loads during periods of elevated aerodynamic stress.
Market Analyst Perspectives
According to TipRanks, SPCX maintains a Strong Buy consensus rating, supported by 23 Buy recommendations, five Hold positions, and one Sell rating since the company’s initial public offering.
The consensus price target stands at $243.81, representing potential upside of 106.2% from present trading levels.
Should Friday’s launch proceed successfully, Flight 13 may conclude the suborbital testing phase of the Starship development program, with SpaceX already planning an orbital mission for Flight 14.
The 20 Starlink V3 satellites aboard would establish a historic precedent as the first operational payload deployment via Starship.
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