SpaceX successfully completed the 13th test flight of its Starship megarocket on July 24, 2026, achieving the first intact soft splashdown of its Version 3 upper stage in the Indian Ocean. Liftoff occurred at 6:51 p.m. ET from Starbase, Texas, following weather delays and a previous engine-abort postponement.
Version 3 Starship Reaches the Indian Ocean Intact
The company, owned by Elon Musk, cited engine failure at liftoff during an aborted launch attempt last week. This was also the second flight for this version of Starship, called V3, and its first flight as a publicly traded company.
During the webcast of the mission, SpaceX’s Dan Huot remarked that it was lucky number 13 and a phenomenal flight for Starship, calling it a really great day for Version 3. Overhead cameras showed that most of the hexagonal heatshield tiles remained attached as the vehicle bobbed gently in the water following its descent under engine power. The ship touched down under engine power, tipped over while still slightly burning and then bobbed gently in the water, with no explosion or major fire.
Booster Recovery Challenges and Engine Hurdles
While the upper stage succeeded, the Super Heavy booster faced propulsion difficulties during its return. The booster detached from the spacecraft about two minutes into the flight and made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf. In a statement following the flight, SpaceX said the landing was not perfect as the booster attempted to relight its engines for the landing burn, but only a subset successfully ignited before the hard splashdown.
The result was a harder splashdown than intended for the booster in the Gulf of America, also known as the Gulf of Mexico. Only eight out of the 13 Super Heavy booster engines needed for landing ignited.
The liftoff came a week after four of the 33 Raptor engines on the Super Heavy booster failed to s[art during an aborted launch attempt. The first launch attempt on July 16 experienced a rare post-ignition abort, which SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said was due to multiple engines on the rocket failing to ignite, leading the launch to be postponed a week as SpaceX replaced some of the engines. Then the planned July 23 launch was delayed due to weather and visibility concerns.
Starlink V3 Satellite Deployment and Orbital Tests
Meanwhile, the Starship continued to coast through space fulfilling planned goals such as deploying 20 Starlink V3 satellites and relighting a single engine in space. About 18 minutes into the test flight, the spacecraft successfully deployed 20 of its new Starlink V3 satellites into orbit, a first chance for the company to see how they performed in flight. The 20 Starlink V3 satellites were a demonstration test of the latest version of the company’s internet satellites, produced at a SpaceX facility in Redmond, Washington. SpaceX said teams were able to make contact with all 20 before they reentered the atmosphere shortly into the flight, with the satellites intended to burn up after about 20 minutes.
The new satellites are built to be larger and more powerful than Starlink’s earlier satellites, and are equipped with solar arrays that generate twice as much power as prior generations, as a SpaceX business analyst explained in a livestream. SpaceX said that once operational, future Starship launches will have the capacity to deliver 60 of these V3 Starlink satellites to orbit — a massive increase in the 29 typically delivered on current Falcon 9 launches.
As SpaceX prepares to bring its massive Starship rocket to Florida launch pads and support NASA’s Artemis moon program, the company’s 13th flight from Texas marked a largely successful debut of Starship’s Version 3 design, culminating in the ship’s first intact splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
Artemis Moon Program Timeline and Florida Launch Plans
SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, designed Starship, the largest rocket ever built or flown, to be fully reusable and to lift more cargo for less cost into orbit. Starship is considered crucial for the company’s goal to vastly expand its Starlink satellite network, among other missions.
SpaceX also prepares for future operations on the East Coast. While the giant rocket is still undergoing test flights from Starbase, which is east of Brownsville, SpaceX is planning to launch Starship from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A and Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in the future. SpaceX has previously stated the first launch from Pad 39 could happen as soon as the end of the year, and work on that pad is racing toward completion.