SpaceX recovers Starship from Indian Ocean after successful flight test

SpaceX has successfully completed a major salvage operation, recovering the Starship upper stage from the Indian Ocean following its 13th flight test on July 24, 2026. Unlike previous tests where vehicles were lost during reentry or splashdown, this Starship remained intact and floating near Christmas Island.

Engineers conducted several days of inspections near the island, collecting heatshield samples to analyze how the vehicle handled atmospheric reentry. This data is considered vital for the continued development of the reusable heavy-lift system. The spacecraft has been loaded onto a semi-submersible transport vessel, the Forte, and is beginning a multi-month journey back to the SpaceX Starbase in Texas.

The successful mission included the deployment of next-generation Starlink V3 satellites. The Starship program remains a central component of both SpaceX’s goals for Mars colonization and NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface by 2028.