SpaceX launches Starship on 13th flight test, deploys 20 Starlink satellites

SpaceX successfully launched its Starship megarocket on its 13th flight test Friday, deploying 20 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites and completing a soft splashdown of the spacecraft in the Indian Ocean.

According to a statement by the company, Starship lifted off at 5.51 pm Central Time (2251GMT) from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas, marking the second flight of the Starship and Super Heavy V3 vehicles.

The launch began with “Super Heavy igniting all 33 Raptor 3 engines and ascending over the Gulf of America,” it said, adding that the Starship’s upper stage ignited its six Raptor engines following a hot-staging maneuver and continued its planned ascent into space.

“Following stage separation, the Super Heavy booster performed a directional flip maneuver,” the statement said, noting that the rocket completed the high-thrust portion of its “boostback burn using all 33 engines for the first time” with the V3 vehicle.

However, the burn ended early, and the booster later experienced a hard splashdown-rough water landing-in the Gulf after an attempted landing burn in which some engines successfully reignited.

Starship completed its full-duration ascent burn and reached its planned velocity and trajectory before deploying all 20 Starlink V3 satellites.

SpaceX said engineers successfully communicated with every satellite through radio frequency and laser links and downloaded key telemetry.

During reentry, Starship gathered data on heatshield performance before performing a dynamic banking maneuver designed to mimic future return trajectories to Starbase. The spacecraft then guided itself to the planned splashdown zone in the Indian Ocean using its four flaps.

After relighting all three Raptor engines, Starship completed its landing flip and landing burn before making a soft splashdown and coming to rest intact in the Indian Ocean, providing SpaceX with its first views of an intact heatshield after splashdown.

Sharing an image of Flight 13’s launch, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said on US social media platform X: “Pretty clear from this shot that SpaceX knows where we are going! Congrats on getting Flight 13 underway.”

“Excited for what will be learned from this mission. When Starship comes online, its capabilities will be game-changing, not least of which will be ensuring we never give up the Moon again!” he said.