SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, postponed the 13th test flight of its Starship rocket to Friday, July 24, due to unfavorable weather conditions preventing key heat shield imaging. The delay marks the third setback for the spacecraft within just over a week.
On July 16, the launch was aborted seconds before liftoff because multiple Raptor engines on Booster 20 failed to ignite. Musk confirmed on X that the abort was automatic after the system detected missing engine starts, leading engineers to replace two engines before planning a retry.
Attempts resumed on July 23 but were scrubbed again as ground cameras required clear skies to capture detailed footage of Starship’s heat shield tiles during ascent. This imaging is vital for SpaceX to demonstrate the vehicle’s reusability.
The upcoming launch window opens at 6:45 p.m. ET from the Starbase facility in South Texas. If successful, the Super Heavy booster will separate and perform a boostback burn before landing in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, the Starship upper stage is expected to deploy 20 Starlink V3 satellites marking its first operational payload delivery then proceed with a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX’s financial narrative includes its significant Bitcoin holdings. Ahead of its Nasdaq debut, filings revealed SpaceX owned 18,712 BTC, valued at approximately $1.29 billion in May. This positioned the company among the top corporate Bitcoin holders in the U.S., trailing far behind some massive holders such as Strategy’s treasury but surpassing the majority of Nasdaq-listed firms. Tesla, SpaceX’s sister company, similarly holds 11,509 BTC, maintaining that position through Q2 despite a $112 million impairment loss.
The shares of SpaceX have struggled since their mid-July IPO, trading below the $135 initial price and dropping almost 23% since their market debut.
SpaceX shares were last recorded trading near $118.
