SpaceX readies Starship 13 for suborbital test with real Starlink V3s

SpaceX is preparing Starship’s 13th full-scale test flight, a roughly hour-long suborbital mission from Starbase, Texas, set for Thursday. This flight will carry 20 functioning Starlink V3 satellites in Starship’s cargo bay to test laser communications and interoperability with the Starlink network, while also evaluating heat‑shield tile attachments and load-sensing tiles. The mission also updates Raptor engine relight reliability and booster flip timing after May’s earlier test. If successful, the flight would move SpaceX closer to an orbital mission and potential future Starlink deployments.