SpaceX's 13th Starship test flight launched from Starbase, Texas, at 5:51 pm CDT on July 24, 2026, and ended with an intact splashdown in a remote area of the Indian Ocean.

The vehicle had previously experienced conflagrations after water landings, but this flight showed the heat shield surviving temperatures up to 2,600 °F (1,430 °C).

SpaceX engineers used drones to inspect the heat shield, obtaining detailed views of the ceramic tiles that endured reentry.

The tiles withstood temperatures of 2,600 °F (1,430 °C) during atmospheric reentry.

The mission marked the first intact water landing of a Starship.

Elon Musk said on X that, unless problems are identified after data review, SpaceX will attempt to capture the ship with the launch tower on the next flight.

Such a capture would involve a longer‑range trajectory, potentially into low‑Earth orbit, and a hover‑landing at the launch site.

SpaceX has previously captured the Super Heavy booster, but has not yet done so with a Starship‑class vehicle.

The Super Heavy booster performed a high‑thrust boostback burn with all 33 engines, the first time with a Version 3 configuration, before ending the burn early.

It attempted to relight its engines for a landing burn; a subset ignited before the booster impacted the Gulf of Mexico.

Engine failures prevented a successful controlled landing.

Engineers noted that further work is required to recover and reuse the Version 3 booster.

Starship deployed a stack of 20 upgraded Starlink V3 satellites during the flight.

The satellites, larger than previous models, followed a suborbital trajectory and were designed to burn up on reentry.

Ground teams maintained contact with each satellite and downloaded telemetry before their demise, providing the first performance data for Starlink V3.

A brief Raptor engine restart lasting about 14 seconds was conducted, marking a core capability for future orbital missions.

NASA said the orbital flight advances its plans for refueling Starship and supporting Artemis lunar missions.

The demonstration also paves the way for operational Starlink V3 launches, which could increase direct‑to‑device connectivity for consumers and the military.

SpaceX operates one active launch pad in Texas and is renovating a second, with additional pads planned in Florida.

The next step will be to achieve orbital flight and return the vehicle to the launch site, which would enable routine payload delivery and higher‑frequency reuse.

Further data from the current mission will inform heat‑shield refinement and booster recovery efforts.