SpaceX Starship Flight 13 deploys 20 Starlink V3 satellites and lands intact in Indian Ocean
On July 24, 2026 SpaceX launched the 13th integrated test flight of its Starship launch system from the Starbase facility in southern Texas. The vehicle used the upgraded Version 3 configuration, with a Super Heavy booster and an upper‑stage Starship, and carried 20 next‑generation Starlink V3 internet satellites.
The flight achieved several milestones. The upper stage completed a controlled re‑entry and performed the first intact splashdown of a Starship in the Indian Ocean, allowing engineers to inspect the heat‑shield. Six of the deployed satellites carried cameras to image the shield during descent. The Super Heavy booster returned to the Gulf of Mexico but suffered a harder water impact because only a subset of its landing‑burn engines ignited.
The mission provided critical data for SpaceX’s plans to use Starship for NASA’s Artemis lunar missions and future Mars trips, and demonstrated the operational capability of the new high‑capacity Starlink V3 satellites, which are designed to deliver terabit‑per‑second broadband speeds.
The launch followed two prior aborts caused by engine failures and weather delays, and the successful flight marks the first major achievement for Starship since SpaceX’s public listing.