Value chain · CLM-0535
In plain terms
By late July 2026, after 13 test flights, SpaceX's Starship rocket had still not been launched into low Earth orbit, and its test of transferring fuel between two of its craft in space had not yet flown. It flew five times in 2025.
The claim as recorded
As of Starship's 13th integrated flight test (24 July 2026), the vehicle had not yet been launched to low Earth orbit, the next flight being described as one that "could be the first attempt" to do so, and the orbital propellant-transfer demonstration had not been flown, its two launches being listed for 2026 with dates to be announced; Starship flew five times in calendar 2025.
Evidence behind this: RE-GRADED T4 to T6 on 2026-09-11, under the weakest-source rule. The weakest cited source is SRC-407, a Wikipedia list captured 2026-09-06 - a tertiary compilation, T6. What the capture supports and what it does not were checked by searching its 84,210 characters of stripped text. Supported: Flight 13 and its narrative, the "As of 24 July 2026" statistics block, and the propellant-transfer demonstration still listed as TBA, which is what carries "not yet flown". The strings "orbital velocity", "March 2025" and "25 flights" are each absent from the capture, so the claim no longer states an orbital-velocity finding, a March 2025 target or a 25-flight target. The two 2024 trade-press reports named in src for the target date are not held.
Scope and limits
Sourced via tertiary compilation (Wikipedia) cross-checked against secondary trade-press reporting, not a primary SpaceX flight-status disclosure; treat as directional. This is by design a test-campaign status, not evidence the capability is unachievable, only that it is not yet achieved. The captured page records flight status only. It gives no original target date for the propellant-transfer demonstration and no annual flight target, so this claim makes no statement about slippage against either.
What it assumes
No assumptions are recorded against this claim.
Where it comes from
(Wikipedia, "List of Starship launches", captured 2026-09-06): "As of July 24, 2026, the SpaceX Starship has been launched 13 times, with 8 successes and 5 failures"; the 2025 section lists five launches (16 January, 6 March, 27 May, 26 August, 13 October); "Flight 14 could be the first attempt to launch Starship to Low Earth orbit"; the target and chaser launches "for the propellant transfer demonstration mission" are listed for 2026 with dates "To be announced".
Basis: flight-test status as of Flight 13, 24 July 2026
Related records
- Answers question
- QST-003 not published in this release
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-0535
CLM-0535, Energy Aperture, as of 2026-07.