On July 24, 2026, at 5:51 p.m. Central Time, SpaceX launched Starship on its thirteenth flight test from Pad 2 at Starbase, Texas. This mission marked the second flight of the upgraded Starship and Super Heavy V3 vehicles, flying Booster 20 and Ship 40.
Super Heavy ignited all 33 of its Raptor 3 engines at liftoff and completed a successful ascent. After hot-staging, Ship 40 separated cleanly and continued under the power of its six Raptor engines. The booster performed its boostback burn, completing the high-thrust portion with all 33 engines before attempting a landing burn. A subset of engines ignited, and the booster experienced a hard splashdown in the Gulf of America.
Ship 40 reached its planned trajectory and successfully deployed all 20 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites. This was the first time a Starship vehicle had deployed operational satellites. Engineers established communication with every satellite using both radio frequency and laser links and downloaded key telemetry data. The satellites followed their planned suborbital path and reentered the atmosphere approximately 20 minutes after deployment.
Following satellite deployment, Ship 40 demonstrated a critical capability by reigniting a single Raptor engine while in space. This in-space engine restart is an essential step toward future orbital missions. The vehicle then began its atmospheric reentry, collecting important data on heatshield performance. During descent it executed a dynamic banking maneuver designed to simulate the trajectory future vehicles will use when returning to Starbase.
Guided by its four flaps, Ship 40 reached the designated splashdown zone in the Indian Ocean. It relit all three of its Raptor engines, performed a landing flip, and completed a controlled landing burn, transitioning from three engines to two and then one. The vehicle achieved a soft splashdown and remained intact while floating on the ocean surface. Cameras continued to transmit, providing the first clear views of an intact heatshield after splashdown, and the vehicle continued sending telemetry data.
The flight delivered multiple technical milestones. It was the first Starship mission to deploy next-generation Starlink satellites, the first successful in-space Raptor relight on this vehicle generation, and the first time a Starship upper stage completed a soft ocean splashdown while remaining intact and operational. Data gathered on the heatshield, engine performance, and reentry dynamics will support the next steps toward full reusability and orbital operations.
The Raptor engine restart was bright enough to be observed from the ground in South Africa, offering a rare visual confirmation of the in-space burn from Earth.
Here is the video showing Starship Flight 13 launching from Starbase and its historic soft splashdown:
