A new Starship has officially come to life. SpaceX has successfully completed the first static fire test of Ship 40, the upper stage expected to fly on the company’s upcoming Flight 13 mission. The brief but significant engine burn marks the beginning of another crucial testing campaign for the world’s largest launch system and highlights the rapid pace at which SpaceX continues to refine its fully reusable rocket.
Ship 40 Begins Its Journey Toward Flight 13
As reported bySpace.com, the latest test took place at Starbase, Texas, where Ship 40 was secured at the company’s Massey test facility for its first static fire. During the demonstration, one of the spacecraft’s central Raptor 3 engines ignited for approximately 15 seconds, allowing engineers to verify engine performance before moving to more demanding test campaigns. Static fires are among the most important milestones before launch because they allow teams to validate engine hardware while the vehicle remains firmly anchored to the ground.
Although the test lasted only a few seconds, it provided valuable performance data and demonstrated that the upgraded propulsion system is functioning as expected. Ship 40 carries six Raptor 3 engines in total, including three optimized for atmospheric flight and three designed specifically for operations in the vacuum of space. During launch, all six engines work together, while only a single sea-level engine is used during the spacecraft’s final landing burn. This first ignition is only the beginning, with additional tests involving all six engines expected before the vehicle is cleared for flight.
SpaceX Continues Refining Its Most Powerful Rocket Ever Built
The successful engine test comes shortly after the maiden flight of Starship Version 3, which launched on May 22. Standing approximately 408 feet (124.4 meters) tall, the newest generation of Starship represents the most capable version of the vehicle developed so far. It introduces the entirely new Raptor 3 engine architecture alongside several major hardware improvements. Engineers have upgraded the vehicle with redesigned aerodynamic grid fins, improved thermal protection systems, larger propellant tanks, and integrated docking hardware intended to support future in-orbit refueling operations.
Although the first Version 3 flight experienced several issues, including the inability of the Super Heavy booster to complete its planned soft splashdown, SpaceX considered the overall mission successful because it demonstrated the performance of many newly introduced systems under real flight conditions. The rapid transition from Flight 12 to testing Ship 40 illustrates the company’s development philosophy of continuous iteration, gathering flight data, making improvements, and returning to testing as quickly as possible.
Why This Test Matters for NASA And Future Deep Space Missions
One of the most important capabilities planned for Starship extends well beyond simply reaching orbit. The spacecraft has been designed to perform orbital refueling, a technology considered essential for missions beyond low Earth orbit. While Starship can reach space using the propellant loaded before launch, significantly longer missions require additional fuel delivered by specially configured tanker Starships. SpaceX has not yet demonstrated this complex operation in orbit, but the company hopes to begin testing it in the near future.
This capability is central to NASA’s Artemis program, which selected a modified Starship as the Human Landing System that will transport astronauts from lunar orbit to the Moon’s surface. Current mission planning indicates that the lunar landing version of Starship will require at least 15 tanker launches to fully refuel before descending to the lunar surface during Artemis 4, currently targeted for late 2028. Every successful ground test therefore contributes directly to the long-term goal of enabling sustained human exploration beyond Earth orbit.
