How to watch SpaceX's Starship launch as NASA awaits lunar progress
SpaceX is hours away from launching its massive Starship rocket on what will be its second flight test of 2026.
About two months ago, tech mogul Elon Musk's commercial spaceflight company debuted a new prototype of the world's largest rocket that was bigger and more powerful than any iteration of Starship. That model, known as Version 3 (V3) will be getting off the ground again at SpaceX's South Texas headquarters.
Expectations, as usual, are high.
If you plan to watch the launch, there's some valuable context to know: NASA is relying on SpaceX to have Starship ready by 2027 to fly on a test mission to demonstrate that the vehicle is ready for crewed moon landing missions. Musk also will be looking to make good on his company's promise of sometime in the years ahead launching a private human expedition to Mars orbit.
Here's how to watch live as SpaceX launches its Starship rocket on its 13th test mission since 2023, which it refers to as "flight 13."
Is Starship launching today? SpaceX targets flight 13
SpaceX is working toward a Thursday, July 16, launch of its Starship rocket, the company announced. The launch window is due to open from 6:45 to 8:15 p.m. ET, with the massive rocket getting off the ground from SpaceX's Starbase company town and headquarters in Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border.
How to watch Starship launch live
The launch will be available to stream on SpaceX's website beginning about 30 minutes before liftoff. SpaceX will also provide updates on social media site X.
"As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change," SpaceX said on its website.
What is Starship?
Starship is the massive rocket that SpaceX, the commercial company founded by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, has been testing since April 2023. SpaceX is developing the rocket to be a fully reusable transportation system that can carry huge satellites and other payloads to space, meaning both the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions.
Musk's vision has long been for Starship to be an interplanetary vehicle that takes humans to Mars, where they can establish a self-sustaining colony. While the world's richest man has indicated that SpaceX will focus on building a lunar city first, the company has already announced a human-led expedition to Mars' orbit – though it has not set a target date.
SpaceX is also under contract with NASA to develop a lunar lander configuration of its Starship, known as the Human Landing System, to ferry astronauts to the moon under the U.S. space agency's Artemis program.
How tall is Starship? Is it the world's largest rocket?
Starship's most recent flight test in May marked the debut of SpaceX's third-generation prototype of the rocket. Standing at 407 feet tall when fully stacked, the new iteration of Starship – known as Version 3, or V3 – became the largest and most powerful rocket SpaceX has ever launched.
Similar to previous designs, the fully integrated Starship spacecraft is composed of both a 236-feet-tall lower-stage booster known as Super Heavy, as well as a 171-feet-tall upper stage simply called Starship.
See photos of Starship rocket launches
What is Starship flight 13? What to expect
For the next Starship test flight, SpaceX said it is aiming to complete similar objectives as the last launch in May in which it debuted its Version 3 prototype.
SpaceX plans to push the performance of the Super Heavy booster – responsible for the initial burst of thrust at liftoff – before it lands in the Gulf of Mexico, renamed in the U.S. under executive order as the Gulf of America. The upper stage, which is designed to eventually fly in orbit, will also be put to the test as it flies halfway around the world ahead of a landing in the Indian Ocean.
In a major first, Starship will be carrying 20 larger versions of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites that it will attempt to deliver into suborbital space. The satellites will deploy solar arrays and antennas while attempeting to connect with SpaceX's larger Starlink constellation higher up in orbit before they fall toward the ground and burn up in the atmosphere about 20 minutes later.
If this sounds familiar, that's because SpaceX has deployed mock Starlink satellites during previous Starship flight tests.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How to watch SpaceX's Starship launch as NASA awaits lunar progress
Reporting by Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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This story was originally published July 16, 2026 at 9:14 AM.