SpaceX Starship Test Flight Delayed; India's Vikram-1 Reaches Orbit

SpaceX's 13th Starship test flight has been rescheduled for Friday evening after a last-second abort on July 16 necessitated the rollback of the booster to its South Texas hangar for engine replacement. This delay means the company is one week behind its planned schedule for the test flight. A successful launch and reentry of Starship would position SpaceX to attempt an orbital flight later this year. Ars Technica will provide a detailed recap following the flight's completion.

In parallel, India's space sector celebrated a significant milestone with the successful debut flight of Skyroot Aerospace’s Vikram-1 rocket. This marks India's first fully commercial satellite launcher to reach orbit. Indian space officials declared the mission a "grand success" after the rocket achieved its target orbit at an altitude of 280 miles. The liftoff occurred from a spaceport located on an island in the Bay of Bengal.

The Vikram-1 rocket launched from Sriharikota Island, India's primary spaceport, around midday local time. The launch sequence experienced a delay of over half an hour due to a last-minute technical issue that required resolution before the countdown could resume. Once the problem was fixed, the command was given to ignite the Vikram-1's solid-fueled first stage booster, propelling the rocket from the launch pad.