Latest Developments

SpaceX’s Starship Flight 13 has been pushed to Friday for the second consecutive delay, this time due to Tropical Storm Bertha bearing down on the Texas Gulf Coast rather than the post-abort engine issues that plagued earlier attempts. Meanwhile, NASA has quietly reshuffled its launch manifest, pulling the SunRISE space weather mission off ULA’s Vulcan Centaur in favor of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy. On the corporate side, Alphabet’s latest quarterly filing revealed a staggering $94.1 billion equity stake in SpaceX, underscoring Big Tech’s deepening ties to the space sector. With 12,552 Starlink satellites launched to date, 10,844 currently in orbit, and 10,828 operational, the constellation continues its steady operational cadence even as Starship testing hits weather-related turbulence.

Space Safety

Current conjunction assessments reveal a critical collision hazard involving STARLINK-5262 and the MONOLITH payload, with two HIGH-risk events predicted for Jul 26, 2026 at 04:05 UTC featuring a minimum separation of just 6 meters and a collision probability approaching unity. Concurrent reentry predictions indicate five Starlink objects entering the decay phase between Jul 23-27, 2026, with STARLINK-2113 presenting the largest uncertainty window of 1,140 minutes. The overlap between the high-probability conjunction window and active reentry corridors increases operational risk across the constellation during this period.

Detailed Coverage

Tropical Storm Bertha Grounds Starship Flight 13, Again

SpaceX’s much-anticipated 13th Starship test flight has been delayed a second time, now targeting Friday, July 24, with liftoff planned during a 90-minute window opening at 5:45 p.m. CDT from Starbase, Texas. This time the culprit is weather rather than hardware: Tropical Storm Bertha is forecast to make landfall in Texas, forcing SpaceX to stand down after already working through post-abort engine issues from the prior attempt. Teams reportedly completed the necessary engine work ahead of the storm’s arrival, positioning Starship for a clean shot once conditions clear.

The back-to-back delays highlight the compounding challenges SpaceX faces at Starbase, where both mechanical reliability and Gulf Coast weather patterns can derail even well-prepared launch attempts. Trackers and enthusiasts are watching closely for signs of how the vehicle’s engine fixes hold up once flight finally proceeds.

Read the full story: Teslarati

NASA Drops Vulcan Centaur, Picks Falcon Heavy for SunRISE

In a notable manifest shakeup, NASA has reassigned its SunRISE space weather mission from United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur to a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The swap marks yet another instance of a government payload shifting toward SpaceX hardware, reflecting both Falcon Heavy’s track record and possible scheduling pressures on ULA’s newer vehicle.

SunRISE, designed to study solar radio bursts and space weather phenomena, joins a growing list of science missions relying on SpaceX’s heavy-lift capability rather than competing providers, further cementing the company’s dominance across both commercial and government launch markets.

Read the full story: Space.com

Alphabet Reveals $94.1 Billion SpaceX Stake

Alphabet Inc.’s latest quarterly filing disclosed a jaw-dropping $94.1 billion equity stake in SpaceX, the first time the long-held private investment has been quantified publicly following SpaceX’s blockbuster IPO earlier this year. The disclosure cements Google’s parent company as one of the largest institutional stakeholders in the space launch giant.

The scale of the investment underscores how deeply intertwined Silicon Valley and the commercial space industry have become, with Alphabet’s stake now representing a significant portion of its broader investment portfolio and signaling continued confidence in SpaceX’s long-term valuation trajectory.

Read the full story: Teslarati

Live Coverage Tracks Starship’s Second Launch Attempt

Spaceflight Now is providing continuous live coverage as SpaceX prepares for its second attempt at launching Starship Flight 13, following the completion of post-abort engine work. The mission had originally been delayed due to the abort, and now faces a fresh obstacle in Tropical Storm Bertha’s expected Texas landfall.

With the launch window now set for Friday evening, teams at Starbase are monitoring storm conditions closely while finalizing vehicle preparations, hoping to avoid a third scrub in what has become an increasingly weather-dependent test campaign.

Read the full story: Spaceflight Now

Starship Flight 13 Timeline Shifts to Friday

NASASpaceFlight.com confirms SpaceX’s decision to move Flight 13 to Friday, aligning with reports from other outlets citing Tropical Storm Bertha as the primary obstacle. The shift represents the second delay in as many days for the mission, which had earlier been sidelined by engine anomalies detected during pre-launch checks.

The rescheduling gives SpaceX engineers additional buffer time to finalize storm-related safety assessments at Starbase, while also allowing continued verification of the engine fixes implemented after the prior abort event.

Read the full story: NASASpaceflight.com

Constellation Status

There have been no changes to the Starlink constellation since the last check. As of July 18, 2026, SpaceX maintains a total of 12,552 launched satellites, with 10,844 currently in orbit, 10,828 of which are operational, while 1,708 have decayed from their orbits.

• Total Launched: 12552
• Total On Orbit: 10844
• Total Working: 10828

Track Starlink satellites in real-time: Track Starlink

Wondering about the totals? See how many Starlink satellites are in orbit, updated daily.