Summary:
SpaceX shares fell more than 3% after the company postponed the Starship Flight Test 13 launch due to an engine ignition issue involving its new Raptor engines. The mission was set to test and briefly deploy 20 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites, gather critical engineering data, and validate upgraded launch systems. Alongside the update, SpaceX also unveiled plans for a lighter Starlink V5 user terminal and outlined its long-term vision of developing large-scale orbital AI data centres supported by a massive chip manufacturing facility.
SpaceX shares fell by more than 3% on Friday, a day after the company called off the test flight of its latest Starship rocket. The mission was expected to carry and briefly deploy a group of next-generation Starlink V3 satellites for a series of in-flight validation tests.
The launch attempt on Thursday was halted during the engine startup sequence after several of SpaceX’s new Raptor engines failed to ignite.
“There will be no Starship launch today,” SpaceX communications executive Dan Huot said during the company’s livestream. Earlier in the countdown, at around T-minus 28 minutes, he had indicated there was a 90% probability that the launch would proceed.
Following the scrubbed launch, Elon Musk explained on X that the automatic abort was triggered because some of the engines did not start. He later said that two Raptor engines would need to be removed and replaced to ensure a successful mission, adding that the next launch attempt would most likely take place early next week.
The planned Starship V3 test flight is the first to use upgraded, higher-performance Raptor engines from Launch Pad 2 at Boca Chica, Texas, which was completed earlier this year. Starship is being developed to transport heavy payloads into orbit, including Starlink satellites, the company’s upcoming Starmind AI satellites, and future missions to the Moon and Mars.
Designated Starship Flight Test 13, the mission was also expected to become the first to deploy 20 Starlink V3 satellites. Each satellite is designed with approximately 1 Tbps of downlink capacity, 160 Gbps of uplink capacity, and 2,048 transmission and receiving beams. Compared with the previous Starlink V2 generation, the V3 satellites offer roughly 10 times greater downlink capacity and 22 times higher uplink capacity.
The test plan involved deploying the satellites to perform a rapid sequence of demonstrations, including extending their solar arrays and antennas, establishing communication with ground stations, and activating onboard satellite communication systems. The satellites were not intended to remain in orbit and were scheduled to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up approximately 20 minutes after deployment.
SpaceX expects the mission to generate valuable engineering data that will support future Starlink V3 deployments using Starship. During the livestream, Kate Tice, Senior Manager of Quality Systems Engineering at SpaceX, noted that the mission’s primary objective was to collect operational data rather than simply place satellites into orbit.
New Starlink Hardware and AI Infrastructure Plans
During the countdown broadcast, SpaceX also shared updates on several upcoming initiatives, including the introduction of the Starlink V5 user terminal. The new kit is designed to be smaller and lighter while featuring an integrated mini router.
Huot also discussed the company’s long-term vision of deploying as many as one million orbital AI data centres, stating that SpaceX believes space-based computing could become the lowest-cost computing platform within the next two to three years. To support this ambition and manufacture the required AI chips, the company is evaluating plans for a factory spanning around 100 million square feet, roughly ten times larger than a Tesla Gigafactory.
