SpaceX launched its massive Starship rocket on Friday, July 24, 2026, from its launch facility in Starbase, Texas, marking the 13th test flight of the vehicle. The mission, which lasted just over one hour, resulted in the first time a Starship upper stage came to rest intact in the Indian Ocean, providing critical views of an intact heatshield. CEO Elon Musk confirmed the spacecraft was floating in the ocean and transmitting telemetry, with SpaceX official Dan Huot describing it as the softest splashdown
the company has ever had with Starship in that region.
Deployment of Next-Generation Starlink V3
Approximately 18 minutes into the flight, the Starship upper stage successfully deployed 20 new Starlink Version 3 satellites into orbit. These next-generation satellites, produced at a SpaceX facility in Redmond, Washington, are larger and more powerful than previous versions. According to a SpaceX business analyst, the V3 satellites feature expansive solar arrays that generate twice as much power as prior generations and are equipped with laser communications links.
While Starship is designed to launch 60 Starlink V3 satellites at once, this flight served as an initial opportunity to observe their performance in flight. The 20 deployed satellites were intended to burn up after about 20 minutes. The deployment of these satellites is considered crucial for SpaceX’s goal to vastly expand its Starlink satellite network.
Booster Performance and Landing Challenges
The flight utilized the Super Heavy v3 Booster, which detached from the spacecraft about two minutes after liftoff. The booster attempted a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, but SpaceX reported the landing was not perfect. According to Dan Huot, only five of the 13 planned engines ignited during the landing burn, causing the booster to hit the water with significant velocity in a hard splashdown.
This mission was the second for the Starship V3 design. Industry expert Tim Farrar of TMF Associates noted that while SpaceX has made progress, the company remains a long way from achieving rapid reusability of the entire ship,
citing the failure to relight Raptor engines. Farrar warned that similar failures during an attempted landing at the company’s own launch site could cause severe damage to the launchpad.
Technical Iterations and Flight History
Flight 13 followed several setbacks and technical modifications. The mission was delayed from Thursday due to weather and Tropical Storm Bertha. A previous attempt on July 16 was scrubbed after the booster triggered a hold that shut down engines during ignition. Following that abort, SpaceX removed and replaced multiple Raptor engines on Booster 20. SpaceX stated that the Super Heavy booster for this flight included hardware modifications to improve relight reliability and updates to engine alarms and aborts.
The upper stage, Ship 40, also featured heat shield modifications. SpaceX attached multiple tiles to the metallic side of the aft flaps and used modified tiles and attachment mechanisms on the aft skirt to gather data on different attachment options.
Strategic Context and Future Goals
This mission was the first test flight since SpaceX’s record initial public offering last month. Despite the technical achievements of Flight 13, the company’s stock has fallen 43% from its peak close on June 16.
The development of Starship remains central to several high-stakes objectives:
- Orbital Infrastructure: SpaceX is developing Starmind satellites to be used as orbital data centers.
- Lunar and Martian Missions: The company intends to use Starship to return U.S. astronauts to the moon and eventually power manned missions to Mars.
- NASA Partnership: SpaceX is currently preparing Starship for a major NASA test flight scheduled for next year.
Related reading
