Key Takeaways
- Pre-market trading saw SPCX shares decline 1.73% following another Starship Flight 13 delay
- Tropical Storm Bertha’s weather conditions forced SpaceX to postpone Thursday’s planned launch
- Clear visibility is essential for documenting heat shield performance during the rocket’s climb
- The mission has now been delayed twice — an automated engine abort stopped the first attempt on July 16
- Launch window for Friday extends 90 minutes starting at 5:45 p.m. Central Time
Shares of SpaceX (SPCX) declined 1.73% during Thursday’s pre-market session following the aerospace company’s announcement that Starship Flight 13 would be postponed once again, with a new target date of Friday, July 24.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., SPCX
The postponement stems from atmospheric conditions associated with Tropical Storm Bertha currently affecting South Texas. According to SpaceX, excessive cloud coverage would obstruct ground-based cameras from documenting critical heat shield visuals during the vehicle’s ascent phase — an essential mission parameter for this test flight.
SpaceX announced the schedule change via its official X account, noting that Friday’s launch opportunity would maintain the same 90-minute window commencing at 5:45 p.m. Central Time.
This represents the second postponement for Flight 13 within a two-week period. The initial launch attempt on July 16 resulted in an automatic abort sequence triggered at the moment of ignition when four of the 33 Raptor engines aboard Super Heavy Booster 20 failed to light.
Following that abort, SpaceX engineers dedicated the subsequent week to unstacking the integrated vehicle, replacing two problematic Raptor engines, conducting comprehensive leak inspections, and reassembling the stack on Launch Pad 2 — only to encounter weather-related obstacles this time around.
In contrast to the mechanical challenges that caused the initial scrub, Thursday’s postponement stems purely from visual observation requirements. The company requires high-quality video documentation of Starship’s thermal protection system as it traverses maximum aerodynamic pressure, something the storm’s cloud layer renders unfeasible.
This particular mission carries 20 production-ready Starlink V3 satellites — representing the first instance of SpaceX launching actual operational payloads instead of mass simulators aboard Starship. This factor elevates Flight 13 to milestone status irrespective of its exact launch date.
Among those 20 satellites, six are equipped with specialized camera systems designed to monitor the heat shield from orbit, providing engineers with supplementary data alongside the ground-based imagery currently prevented by meteorological conditions.
Mission Profile Updates
Flight 13 represents the second mission utilizing the V3 configurations of both the Starship upper stage and Super Heavy booster, following their initial deployment during Flight 12 this past May.
Booster 20’s flight plan includes executing 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 ascent profile features a more intense burn sequence following maximum dynamic pressure compared to Flight 12’s conservative approach. Additionally, Ship 40’s thermal protection system incorporates instrumented tiles engineered to gather stress measurements during periods of elevated dynamic pressure.
Market Sentiment and Analyst Outlook
According to TipRanks data, SPCX maintains a Strong Buy consensus rating, supported by 23 Buy recommendations, five Hold ratings, and a single Sell rating accumulated since the company’s public offering.
Analysts have established a consensus price target of $243.81, representing potential upside of 106.2% relative to current trading levels.
Should Friday’s launch attempt proceed successfully, Flight 13 may conclude the suborbital testing phase of the Starship development program, positioning SpaceX to pursue orbital missions beginning with Flight 14.
The 20 Starlink V3 satellites aboard this mission would establish a historic precedent as Starship’s first operational commercial payload deployment.
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