SpaceX targets Thursday Starship launch after Brownsville links shaking to Starbase test

SpaceX is targeting Thursday for its next Starship test flight from Starbase, marking the company’s first planned launch since federal regulators halted Starship flights following a booster mishap in May.

Starship is the largest rocket ever built and is central to SpaceX’s plans to expand its Starlink satellite network, support NASA’s Artemis lunar missions, and eventually carry humans to Mars.

Watch live: Follow Thursday’s Starship launch with live Starbase feeds from NASASpaceflight and LabPadre, available on the RGV Business Journal’s Rio Grande Valley Webcams page. You’ll also find live views from South Padre Island, the Queen Isabella Causeway, and other locations across the region.

The launch also comes as scrutiny surrounding Starbase operations continues to grow.

Just days before the planned flight, the City of Brownsville issued a public alert after residents reported hearing a loud boom and feeling the ground shake during what officials described as a routine SpaceX ground test at Starbase.

“Residents who experienced these effects should be aware that they were related to the SpaceX test and were not caused by an earthquake, as some social media reports have suggested,” the city said in Friday’s advisory.

Earlier this year, more than 70 homeowners from Port Isabel, South Padre Island, and Laguna Vista filed a federal class-action lawsuit alleging repeated Starship launches and sonic booms damaged their homes.

The plaintiffs are seeking more than $10 million in damages, alleging launches conducted between April 2023 and October 2025 subjected their properties to intense noise, vibrations, and pressure waves. Those allegations have not been proven in court.

The launch also follows the FAA’s May decision to halt Starship flights after Flight 12, when the Super Heavy booster experienced a mishap during its return toward the Gulf of Mexico. The agency required SpaceX to investigate the failure and implement corrective actions before authorizing another launch.

Flight 13 will test fixes from the last launch

According to SpaceX, Thursday’s mission will repeat many of the goals from the previous flight while testing changes made after problems occurred during Flight 12.

The company said it updated the Super Heavy booster after several of its engines failed to restart during the previous flight’s return to Earth. Engineers also changed the way the booster separates from Starship after the vehicles did not separate exactly as planned during Flight 12.

SpaceX also upgraded Starship’s propulsion system after one of its engines shut down during the previous mission.

The mission will also attempt the first deployment of 20 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites, which are designed to increase the network’s capacity and improve internet speeds. The satellites are expected to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere about 20 minutes after they are released.

Additional objectives include restarting a Raptor engine while in space, testing new heat shield designs, and attempting another controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

The 90-minute launch window is scheduled to open at 5:45 p.m. CDT Thursday from Starbase near Boca Chica.