SpaceX's massive Starship rocket, standing 403 feet tall when fully stacked, was originally scheduled to lift off from Starbase, Texas, on Thursday, July 23, 2026 — but weather pushed the attempt back. The launch window now opens no earlier than 6:45 p.m. ET on Friday, July 24. This would mark the 13th flight test of the vehicle, which SpaceX is developing as a fully reusable transportation system for satellites, cargo, and eventually crew.
The big question for Florida sky-watchers: could Flight 13 be visible from the Sunshine State? It has happened before. When Starship launched from South Texas on October 13, 2025, residents across Palm Beach County reported spotting the rocket in the evening sky. Observers in Boynton Beach and Delray Beach caught sight of it, and a Florida Today photojournalist working a separate Cape Canaveral launch that night also photographed Starship and its contrail passing overhead — roughly 1,500 miles from its Texas launch site.
Not every Starship mission has gone smoothly, either. During a March 6, 2025, test flight, the upper stage of the vehicle lost communication and triggered its own self-destruction less than 10 minutes after liftoff, sending debris streaking across the sky from Florida to the Caribbean. SpaceX later determined a hardware failure in one of the Raptor engines caused inadvertent propellant mixing and ignition. Despite that failure, the Super Heavy booster successfully returned to the launch pad and was caught by the mechanical arm system known as chopsticks.
The stakes for Flight 13 are high. NASA is counting on Starship to be ready for the Artemis III crewed moon landing mission, currently scheduled for 2027, making each successful test flight a meaningful step toward that goal. SpaceX has also been working toward eventually operating Starship out of Florida, which would bring a new era to Space Coast launches.
If weather cooperates Friday evening and you're in South or Central Florida, it may be worth stepping outside around and after the 6:45 p.m. ET launch window and scanning the western sky. This story was originally reported by Jennifer Sangalang and Eric Lagatta for Florida Today and the USA TODAY Network – Florida.
