Starship's 13th test flight: splashdown success, Starlink V3 deploy, but Super Heavy booster fails in Gulf
SpaceX's Starship V3 successfully splashed down in the Indian Ocean after deploying 20 Starlink satellites, but its Super Heavy booster failed a simulated landing in the Gulf of Mexico, exploding on impact. It was the rocket's 13th test flight and the first since SpaceX's record IPO in June.
Flight overview
The test flight on Friday, 24 July, was the 13th for the Starship program and the first since SpaceX went public in June. The 122-metre rocket lifted off from Starbase, Texas, and flew for about an hour before the upper stage splashed down intact in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX employees at the company's headquarters celebrated the milestone.
Starship is intact, floating in the ocean and transmitting telemetry!
The flight followed an aborted launch attempt a little more than a week earlier when several engines failed at ignition. SpaceX replaced six engines before the successful 24 July flight. This was also the second flight of the V3 version of Starship; during the first V3 launch in May, the upper stage had lost one engine, an issue that did not recur this time.
Starlink V3 deployment
Around 20 third-generation Starlink satellites were released into suborbital space during the flight. They briefly communicated with the company's network of roughly 10,000 orbiting satellites before burning up in the atmosphere about 20 minutes after deployment, as planned. Starship is not yet capable of reaching Earth orbit, and the satellite deployment served as a technical demonstration.
Booster failure in the Gulf of Mexico
The Super Heavy booster, however, did not complete its simulated landing. It flew further into the planned trajectory than on previous V3 attempts but failed to fire all engines for the landing burn. The booster hit the water faster than expected and exploded. This marks the second consecutive V3 flight where the Super Heavy booster failed; the first V3 flight in May suffered a booster failure during stage separation. SpaceX's "fly, fail, fix" development approach continues to rely on these test flights to iterate the vehicle.
- Launch attempt aborted; SpaceX replaces six engines
- Starship V3 launches for 13th test flight, deploys 20 Starlink satellites
- Upper stage splashes down intact in the Indian Ocean
- Super Heavy booster fails simulated landing, explodes in Gulf of Mexico
Market reaction
Friday's launch was the first since SpaceX's June IPO, the largest in history. The company's stock has declined from a peak above $200 to $115 at the close of trading on 24 July, according to TechCrunch. After last week's aborted attempt, shares dipped, and in after-hours trading following the booster failure they fell an additional 2% before paring some losses.
What comes next
SpaceX targets the end of 2026 to use Starship for expanding its Starlink constellation with V3 satellites, aiming to provide coverage in remote areas where conventional cellular networks are absent. The company will continue testing to make Starship orbit-capable.
