Successful Flight for Starship IFT-13
The mission deployed 20 Starlink V3 satellites and marked Starship’s first mostly intact splashdown, a key step for future reuse plans.
- On Friday, July 24, 2026, SpaceX successfully launched its 13th Starship test flight from South Texas, with the 407-foot-tall rocket's upper-stage spacecraft splashing down mostly intact in the Indian Ocean.
- This mission tested the upgraded Version 3 design for improved reliability; while all 33 Super Heavy booster engines ignited during ascent, the booster experienced a harder splashdown than planned in the Gulf of Mexico.
- The upper-stage Ship deployed 20 Starlink satellites as a demonstration test while cameras confirmed most hexagonal heat shield tiles remained attached during the fiery atmospheric reentry over the Indian Ocean.
- "This is the first time we've put an intact Starship in the water," said Dan Huot, a host of the SpaceX webcast. Unlike previous tests, the rocket did not explode in a fireball when it tipped into the water.
- Future missions will utilize Starship for NASA's Artemis moon program and planned launches from Florida. SpaceX aims to deliver 60 Starlink satellites on operational flights, a massive increase from the 29 typically deployed on current Falcon 9 rockets.
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33 Articles
Ars Technica
technewstube.comSpaceX eyes tower catch for next Starship after auspicious end to 13th flight
SpaceX will likely attempt to catch Starship back at the launch pad on its next flight.
Successful Flight for Starship IFT-13
The 13th Integrated Flight Test of SpaceX’s Starship system, IFT-13, was mostly a success. One week after the launch was scrubbed at the last moment because of engine failures, and a day after a weather delay, yesterday’s liftoff went perfectly as did the flight from Texas to the Indian Ocean. The only wrinkle was when the first stage made a hand landing in the Gulf after several engines did not fire for the landing burn. All 33 Raptor 3 engines…
SpaceX's Starship V3 deploys most advanced Starlink satellites then pulls off best re-entry yet with splashdown so soft it floated in the Indian Ocean
It was the 13th flight of the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket, and the second this year of the new version dubbed V3.
SpaceX's Starship splashes down in Indian Ocean after successful test flight
US aerospace company SpaceX carried out a successful test flight of its14-storey Starship rocket Friday, blasting off from Texas to land gently in the waters of the Indian Ocean. It's the first such success since US tech billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX went public in June.
From the base in Texas, completed the first test flight since Musk's company is listed (ANSA)
On second test of its newest Starship design, SpaceX sticks the landing
SpaceX completed a successful test flight of its Starship rocket on Friday evening, setting the stage for more ambitious developments in the months to come. The post On second test of its newest Starship design, SpaceX sticks the landing appeared first on Hawaii Tribune-Herald.
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