SpaceX Starship Flight 13 Achieves Major Milestones in Orbit

SpaceX launched the 13th test flight of its massive Starship rocket on Friday, July 24, 2026, reaching major new operational milestones despite losing the lower booster during its landing attempt.

The 123-metre rocket lifted off at 5:51 p.m. local time from the company’s Starbase facility in Texas. It marked the second flight using the upgraded Starship and Super Heavy V3 design, and the very first time the vehicle was tasked with carrying actual cargo into space.

All 33 Raptor 3 engines ignited smoothly on the Super Heavy booster to propel the rocket upward over the Gulf of Mexico. Following a successful stage separation, the upper stage Starship fired its six engines to press forward toward space, while the booster flipped around to head back toward Earth.

Engineers had updated the startup software on the booster to make its directional flip smoother and more reliable than on past attempts. Super Heavy successfully completed its high-thrust boostback burn, but only a small portion of its engines lit during the final landing burn. As a result, the booster suffered a hard splashdown in the water and was destroyed.

Meanwhile, the upper stage Starship reached its planned speed and suborbital altitude without issue. Once in space, the spacecraft deployed 20 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites, marking a significant step forward for SpaceX’s satellite network. Engineers established radio and laser contact with every satellite to pull down vital telemetry data before the internet craft re-entered the atmosphere and burned up as planned.

Starship also completed an in-space engine relight test, firing a single Raptor engine to prove a key feature needed for future orbital missions.

Here’s a cool view of Starship as seen from a Starlink satellite…so cool:

During re-entry, the spacecraft gathered crucial heatshield performance data while executing dynamic banking manoeuvres to simulate future landing paths back to Texas. Guided by its four aerodynamic flaps, Starship successfully flipped, relit its three engines, and achieved a soft, intact splashdown in the Indian Ocean, delivering clear footage of a surviving heatshield for the first time.