SpaceX ignites all 33 powerful engines on Starship booster test ahead of Flight 13 launch
SpaceX fired all 33 Raptor engines on its Super Heavy booster during a ground test on July 10, 2026, a step toward Starship’s planned Flight 13. The roughly 25-second static fire took place at Starbase in Texas. The booster remained anchored while its engines ran, allowing engineers to collect data before a launch attempt.
What the test tells us
A full-engine firing gives SpaceX a chance to check ignition, engine performance and the interaction of the booster with its launch mount under load. It is a significant ground milestone for Booster 20, but it does not establish that Flight 13 is ready to fly. Engineers still have to review the test data, complete vehicle and pad preparations, and clear the steps required for launch.
Flight 13 is expected to use Ship 40 as its upper stage. The flight would provide another opportunity to test the ascent and descent of the two-stage Starship system after earlier test flights exposed problems that SpaceX has been working to resolve. A successful static fire cannot, by itself, demonstrate how the upper stage will behave in flight or how either vehicle will perform during reentry and recovery.
Why Starship matters for the Moon
NASA selected a version of Starship as a human landing system for Artemis. Its lunar role will require capabilities beyond a booster ground test, including operations in space and landing on the Moon. Flight 13 is part of that longer development path, rather than a lunar mission in its own right.
The next meaningful updates will be SpaceX’s assessment of the firing, the status of Ship 40, and an announced launch window. As of this article’s July 11 publication, a completed static fire is the confirmed milestone; a flight date remains a plan that can change.
Source: Space.com’s July 10 report on the Booster 20 test. Analysis and context by News IN Space.
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