SpaceX set July 16 as the launch date for Starship's 13th integrated flight test, with a 90-minute window opening at 5:45 pm CT from Starbase in South Texas, seven weeks after the Flight 12 booster crash on May 22; Flight 13 will test fixes applied after the previous launch's problems and will deploy functioning Starlink satellites, described as operational payloads for the first time on a Starship test

Private investment in commercial space globally hit a record US$55.3 billion in 2025, driven by launch-cost collapse, defence demand, and US-China competition for orbital infrastructure.

SpaceX is a US private aerospace company that controls over 60% of commercial orbital launches globally and operates Starlink, the world's largest satellite internet constellation.

SpaceX's fully-reusable US launch vehicle, contracted as NASA's Artemis lunar lander, central to commercial satellite deployment and crewed Moon and Mars ambitions.

Flight 12 proves the upper stage while the new booster flips and fails, investigation halts the program