Space
NASA’s Mars Rover blasts off on ULA rocket for mission to the red planet
The summer of worldwide Mars missions saved the best for last with the successful launch of NASA’s most advanced rover ever. Following on the heels of the successful launches of China’s Tianwen-1 Mars spacecraft and the United Arab Emirates Hope Mars mission, NASA joined the 309 million miles (497 million kilometers) interplanetary journey to the Red Planet with the successful launch of the Mars 2020 Perseverance mission. Safely secured to the top of a mighty United Lunch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket and Centaur upper stage, NASA’s car-sized Perseverance rover – and accompanying Ingenuity helicopter – left Earth on Thursday morning (July 30) in spectacular fashion. Getting off this planet, however, is only the beginning.
Why go to Mars again?
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is perhaps NASA’s most ambitious Mars mission. Formally announced in 2012, the then-unnamed Mars 2020 rover would be tasked with studying the Red Plane in a way that had never been attempted before. It would be collecting samples for eventual return to Earth in search of finding evidence of ancient microbial life.
NASA’s 2012 Curiosity mission uncovered the fact that Mars was rich in material that could have potentially supported microbial life once upon a time. Now, eight years later, the Perseverance mission will hunt for and collect the evidence to back up that claim.
A rover tasked with such an important astrobiological mission required NASA to develop the most technologically advanced range of scientific instruments that had ever been sent to Mars. As described by NASA, Perseverance is outfitted with seven different “state-of-the-art tools for acquiring information about Martian geology, atmosphere, environmental conditions, and potential signs of life (biosignatures).” Perseverance will be the first rover to collect and cache samples of the Martian surface to later be collected and eventually returned to Earth by future joint NASA and European Space Agency missions.
Credit: NASA
It is also the first rover to travel to Mars with a vast array of high-definition cameras with advanced imaging capability. Perseverance will also carry high-definition microphones with it, allowing, for the first time, the sounds of Mars to be captured. This will include the ability to hear entry, descent, and landing from the point of view of the rover, as well as the sound of what it’s like to drive over the Martian terrain.
Perseverance also carries with it two demonstration missions. Onboard is MOXIE, or the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment, designed to test technology that can convert carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere into oxygen – an important precursor experiment to one day sending humans to Mars. Also aboard is Ingenuity, the first-ever rotorcraft – or helicopter – designed to fly on another planet. Ingenuity will test the effectiveness of rotorcrafts on other planets with different atmospheric and gravitational makeup than Earth to perhaps one day serve as planetary observational crafts or delivery systems.
Leaving Earth was the easy part, sort of
A major challenge that faced the Mars 2020 mission was completing final integrations during the global Coronavirus pandemic, which required most NASA and JPL personnel to work from home. NASA LSPÂ senior launch director, Omar Baez, stated that “I never would have thought that a launch director would be working from home and I’ve done that for the last five months.” He went on further to state that “It’s humbling to see how our whole team from the range, to our partners at JPL, to our partners at ULA, to our folks at headquarters – how we all had to adjust to work in this environment, to work electronically.” Although challenging, the Mars 2020 mission persevered to overcome the obstacles and meet the targeted launch date.
The Mars 2020 mission initially targeted a July 18th liftoff at the very opening of the available one-month interplanetary launch window. The mission did suffer a few minor setbacks during the integration phase when ULA had to take a few days to address an issue with a crane at the Vertical Integration Facility pushing the launch date to July 22nd. Then, as explained in a statement provided by NASA the launch date suffered another delay, this time eight days to July 30, “due to launch vehicle processing delays in preparation for spacecraft mate operations.”
The ULA Atlas V in its 541 configuration consisting of a common core booster and four solid rocket motors fully stacked with the precious payload stood 197 feet (60 meters) tall. The Atlas V 541 provided 2 million lbs of thrust rocketing the spacecraft east away from Florida over the Atlantic Ocean. After approximately ninety seconds of flight, the solid rocket motors burned out, separating away from the booster followed quickly by stage separation. The Centaur upper-stage was the workhorse of the mission left to deliver the Mars 2020 payload to its Earth parking orbit.
After a coast phase lasting about 30 minutes, the upper-stage Centaur performed another eight-minute long nominal burn delivering the payload to a heliocentric – or solar bound, rather than Earthlocked – orbit for the Trans Mars Injection maneuver lining it up to intercept with Mars in February 2021. Upon spacecraft separation and successfully propelling the Perseverance mission onward to Mars, the Centaur upper-stage performed what is called a blowdown maneuver for planetary protection, ensuring that it would miss Mars. Twenty minutes later, the Perseverance spacecraft initiated its transmitter to communicate with Earth, and a good acquisition of signal was received by NASA’s international array of giant radio antennas, the Deep Space Network.
The Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter are expected to continue on the journey to the Red Planet and attempt entry, descent, and landing on February 18, 2020.
SpaceX has announced a new target date for the thirteenth test flight of Starship: Monday, July 20, with the launch window opening at 6:45 p.m ET/5:45 p.m. CT.
This is the first rescheduling attempt of Starship’s 13th test flight. It was set to launch last night, but SpaceX scrubbed the launch attempt.
🚨 SpaceX is now looking at Monday, July 20th at 6:45 p.m ET/5:45 p.m. CT for the 13th test flight of Starship pic.twitter.com/7s8aMJV5Ge
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 17, 2026
CEO Elon Musk revealed that some of the engines on Starship did not start, which automatically triggers a launch abort. Two of the Raptor engines will be removed and replaced.
To be confident of a good flight, 2 Raptors will be removed & replaced. Most probable launch timing is early next week.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 17, 2026
SpaceX officially announced the new launch window this morning.
Starship’s 13th test launch comes with a few new objectives, but SpaceX does not plan to attempt a catch of the booster, which it has done several times in the past.
For Starship’s Upper Stage, there are some adjustments to ensure engine reusability that will be assessed during the ascent, and 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites are also set to make their way into space. SpaceX also plans to attempt an in-space relight of a single Raptor engine, which is a critical demonstration for future orbital deorbit, refueling, and deep space maneuvers.
Ultimately, it will splash down in the Indian Ocean.
The continuous tests help SpaceX advance the Starship program toward eventual full reusability, operational Starlink V3 deployment, and future missions, which include NASA’s Artemis program.
SpaceX’s Starlink has launched its latest residential hardware kit: the V5. Designed for reliable high-speed internet, the new terminal represents a significant leap forward in user equipment.
The next generation Starlink Kit is designed to deliver reliable, high-speed home internet. Starlink V5 has a smaller form factor and lightweight design with greater power efficiency than the Starlink V4.
With speeds up to 375+ Mbps, Starlink V5 delivers seamless connectivity… pic.twitter.com/0dorU6n0oD
— Starlink (@Starlink) July 14, 2026
The new V5 Starlink kit features a dramatically smaller and lighter form factor, measuring approximately 384 mm x 306 mm x 34 mm and weighing just 1.1 kg, which is less than half the weight of the previous V4 model, which was 2.9 kg.
This compact design makes installation easier and more versatile, whether mounted on a roof, pole, or even integrated with a pipe adapter. An integrated LED light aids setup in low-light conditions.
Power efficiency sees major gains too. The V5 draws only 35-50W, reducing energy consumption and making it ideal for off-grid or solar-powered setups. Despite its smaller size, performance remains robust. Starlink claims peak speeds of 375+ Mbps, supported by a new Wi-Fi 6 Router Mini that covers up to 2,200 square feet and connects up to 235 devices simultaneously.
The kit maintains strong signal reliability in diverse environments, from urban rooftops to remote rural areas, as demonstrated in the promo footage released by SpaceX, showing seamless operation under cloudy skies.
These improvements expand suitable applications considerably. Households can enjoy lag-free 4K streaming, smooth video conferencing, online gaming, and smart home device management without interruption. The V5’s efficiency and portability also benefit RVs, small businesses, and temporary installations in disaster-recovery zones where quick deployment is critical. Its lightweight build lowers shipping costs and simplifies user handling compared to bulkier predecessors.
Starlink’s Broader Impact on Global Internet Connectivity
Since SpaceX began launching Starlink satellites in 2019, the constellation has grown rapidly. By mid-2026, over 10,400 satellites orbit Earth, with thousands more deployed annually. This massive low-Earth-orbit network delivers broadband to approximately 160 countries and territories, reaching millions of users who previously lacked reliable internet access.
Starlink plays a vital role in bridging the digital divide. It provides essential connectivity to remote communities, maritime vessels, airlines, and regions affected by natural disasters or infrastructure gaps. By combining advanced satellite technology with iterative hardware upgrades like the V5 kit, SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of global internet access, fostering education, economic opportunity, and emergency response capabilities worldwide.
As production ramps up, the V5 promises to make high-performance internet even more accessible to users everywhere.
SpaceX is gearing up for the 13th Starship integrated flight test, which is currently scheduled for Thursday, July 16, with the launch window opening up at 6:30 PM E.T. from Starbase in South Texas.
This mission, the second with the V3 Starship and Super Heavy vehicles, builds directly on the foundation of Flight 12 while introducing ambitious new objectives, including the debut deployment of next-generation Starlink V3 satellites.
The rapid iteration between flights underscores SpaceX’s “fail fast, learn faster” philosophy, with engineers addressing specific anomalies from the previous test to push reusability and payload capabilities further.
Starship’s thirteenth flight test is preparing to launch as early as Thursday, July 16 → https://t.co/Rp7VwBzpWx pic.twitter.com/jdpFlQUEpF
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 11, 2026
Flight 12 occurred earlier in 2026 and encountered notable challenges that became catalysts for Flight 13’s improvements. Issues included booster course deviations during the flip maneuver after stage separation, reusability problems with Super Heavy’s Raptor engine relights for the boostback burn, and an engine-out event on the Starship upper stage during its propulsion phase.
These hiccups, while they did not prevent overall mission success, highlighted areas needing refinement for more consistent performance and higher safety margins in future operational flights.
Elon Musk called it Epic: The full story of SpaceX’s Starship Flight 12
In response, SpaceX implemented a comprehensive suite of both hardware and software upgrades.
For the booster, engineers developed a more robust stage separation flip sequence to maintain stable orientation and prevent off-course rotation. Hardware modifications have enhanced Raptor re-light reliability during the boostback burn, complemented by updated engine alarms and abort logic tailored for multi-engine operations. On the Starship side, propulsion system changes directly tackle the Flight 12 engine-out scenario, improving redundancy and operational resilience.
Another major focus of SpaceX for Flight 13 was the advancements in the heat shield. New tile designs and attachment mechanisms, including tests of aft flaps and skirts, aim to boost durability.
Load-sensing tiles will measure real-time stresses during atmospheric entry, while white-painted tiles simulate missing ones as imaging targets. Six of the 20 Starlink V3 satellites carried aboard will feature specialized cameras to scan and transmit heat shield imagery back to ground teams, providing critical data for future return-to-launch-site attempts.
The mission profile also includes a higher dynamic pressure ascent to stress-test the thermal protection system and increase payload potential, alongside a planned in-space Raptor engine relight demonstration.
The V3 Starlink satellites themselves mark a leap forward, equipped with laser links, deployable solar arrays, and improved antennas to expand network capacity and speeds.
The company wrote:
“For the first time, Starship will carry V3 Starlink satellites to space, which aim to greatly expand the network’s capacity and user speeds. As part of this initial test, Starship is planned to deploy 20 satellites which will extend solar arrays and antennas and will attempt to connect with ground stations in South Africa and the larger Starlink constellation via high-capacity lasers. Six of the satellites have been modified with a suite of cameras to scan Starship’s heat shield and transmit imagery down to operators to continue testing methods of analyzing Starship’s heat shield readiness for return to launch site on future missions. Several tiles on Starship have been painted white to simulate missing tiles and serve as imaging targets in the test.”
This dual-purpose flight tests both vehicle reliability and satellite tech in one integrated operation.
These iterative changes, catalyzed by Flight 12’s data, position Starship closer to rapid reusability goals essential for ambitious programs like Artemis lunar missions and global Starlink coverage.
As SpaceX continues its aggressive test cadence, Flight 13 exemplifies how targeted engineering responses to real-flight anomalies accelerate progress toward fully operational, high-cadence launches. Success here could mark another milestone in the Starship program for SpaceX.
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