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SpaceX to launch Starship on Flight 13, testing V3 Starlink satellite deployment for first time
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Fusion42 · 17 July 2026 · Fusion42 review
SpaceX will launch Starship Flight 13 on 16 July 2026, deploying 20 operational V3 Starlink satellites for the first time—heavier next-generation broadband spacecraft designed to expand network capacity. The test advances SpaceX's path toward rapid reusability and ultimately operating up to 100,000 V3 satellites in orbit, compared to the current 10,800-satellite constellation.
This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of Space Tech.
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If you make RF equipment, power systems, or thermal management for satellites, SpaceX just committed to building 100,000 units at 4,400 pounds each—ten times the existing constellation. Your supplier relationships with the primes (Maxar, Northrop, Ball) are about to get very crowded calls about volume and cost.
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1 source · 16 Jul 2026
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