SpaceX's Starship Flight 13 Achieves Its Softest-Ever Splashdown While Deploying Debut Starlink V3 Satellites
SpaceX's 13th Starship test flight deployed 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites and landed Ship intact in the Indian Ocean, though the Super Heavy booster again splashed down hard.
Overview
SpaceX launched Starship on its 13th test flight on July 24, lifting off from Starbase, Texas at 6:51 p.m. ET in the second flight of the redesigned Starship Version 3 vehicle, according to Space.com and Universe Today. The mission’s upper stage, called Ship, deployed 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites and then settled into the Indian Ocean largely intact — the vehicle’s first fully intact splashdown — according to Space.com and Florida Today. The Super Heavy booster again ran into trouble during its own landing burn and hit the Gulf of Mexico hard, according to Space.com.
The flight followed Flight 12, which the FAA declared a mishap in May after the Super Heavy booster failed its boostback burn and crashed into the Gulf of America. SpaceX made modifications to systems on both the booster and the upper stage after that flight, according to Universe Today. Florida Today reported that the Version 3 Super Heavy booster has now experienced engine issues on both the May 22 and July 24 flights, according to Florida Today.
What Happened During the Flight
All 33 Raptor engines fired on the Super Heavy booster at liftoff, and the rocket set a record for maximum dynamic pressure, known as Max-Q, on its way up, according to Universe Today. Minutes into the flight, Ship separated from the booster to continue on its suborbital trajectory while the booster attempted a controlled return, Universe Today reported.
While coasting through its suborbital arc, Ship deployed the 20 Starlink V3 satellites through a payload-bay system SpaceX engineers have nicknamed the “Pez Dispenser,” according to Universe Today. Over roughly 20 minutes, ground teams tested the satellites’ solar arrays and laser communication links. SpaceX engineer Kate Tice confirmed the tests succeeded: “Not only were we able to make contact with all 20, but we also made comms over lasers with all of them as well,” she said, according to Universe Today. “So, that is awesome.”
Starlink V3 satellites are built to download data at speeds up to 1 terabit per second, a substantial jump over the V2 satellites that make up the bulk of the existing constellation, and are meant to expand Starlink’s direct-to-device capacity, Universe Today reported. As designed for a suborbital test, all 20 satellites reentered the atmosphere and burned up once the checks were complete, according to Space.com and Universe Today. Once operational, Starship is meant to carry 60 Starlink V3 satellites per launch, more than double the 29 satellites SpaceX typically delivers on a Falcon 9 flight, according to Florida Today.
A Rough Landing for the Booster, a Soft One for the Ship
The Super Heavy booster’s landing burn did not go as planned. Only five of the 13 engines needed to slow it for splashdown appeared to fire, and it hit the Gulf of Mexico waters harder than intended, with onboard camera views cutting out, according to Space.com. SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot addressed the shortfall during the live broadcast: “It didn’t look like we lit all 13 engines that we were planning for that initial landing burn,” Huot said. “We were targeting a softer splashdown and, as you saw, it came in with quite a bit of velocity.”
Ship fared better. After deploying its satellites, the upper stage reignited one of its six Raptor engines while still in the upper atmosphere, testing a relight capability meant to let future vehicles enter and leave orbit, Space.com reported. Cameras then captured Ship wrapped in superheated plasma during reentry before it executed a braking burn, downshifting from three engines to two and then to one before tipping over to rest on the water, according to Space.com. Florida Today reported that the vehicle touched down under engine power, tipped over while still slightly burning, and bobbed gently in the water with no explosion or major fire.
Post-splashdown views showed most of the vehicle’s hexagonal heat-shield tiles were still attached, according to Florida Today, while Space.com reported that onboard views also showed the six engines and flaps intact. “This is just the first time we’ve put a Starship into the water,” Huot said, calling it the company’s softest splashdown ever. “This is a dream scenario for this team that’s trying to get this heat shield data.” Elon Musk wrote on X: “Starship is intact, floating in the ocean and transmitting telemetry!”
Getting to Flight 13
SpaceX’s first attempt to launch Flight 13 was scrubbed on July 16, when four of the 33 Raptor engines on the booster failed to start, triggering a post-ignition abort, according to Universe Today and Florida Today. Florida Today reported the cause was turbopump issues, according to SpaceX. Engineers replaced six booster engines out of caution, according to Universe Today and Florida Today, and a subsequent attempt on July 23 was called off for weather, Space.com reported.
What’s Next
SpaceX still has not completed a full Earth orbit with Starship after 13 test flights over three years, and the company must also demonstrate catching Ship at Starbase with the “chopsticks” of its Mechazilla tower — something it has already done with Super Heavy boosters — along with in-space refueling and a crewed lunar lander, Space.com reported. NASA has selected Starship to land Artemis IV astronauts on the Moon in 2028, according to Space.com, and Florida Today reported that a modified Starship V3 is expected to dock with an Orion capsule in Earth orbit during the 2027 Artemis III mission, with a docking system installed at Starship’s nose and no crew entering the vehicle during that test.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote on X after the launch: “Congrats on getting Flight 13 underway. Excited for what will be learned from this mission. When Starship comes online, its capabilities will be game-changing, not least of which will be ensuring we never give up the Moon again!” Space.com noted that the launch coincided with the 57th anniversary of the Apollo 11 astronauts’ return to Earth. Florida Today also reported that SpaceX intends to eventually fly Starship from Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39A and from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with a first Pad 39 launch possible by the end of the year.