SpaceX Starship Flight 13 Deploys First V3 Starlink Satellites, Booster Lands Hard
Upper stage survives reentry and splashdown in Indian Ocean while Super Heavy struggles with landing burn sequence.
SpaceX conducted its 13th Starship test flight on July 24, 2026, deploying the first operational Starlink V3 satellites while experiencing another setback with its Super Heavy booster landing.
Mission Success and Satellite Deployment
The mission marked the second launch of the Starship V3 configuration and the first since SpaceX completed its record-breaking IPO on June 12, 2026, at $135 per share. The flight deployed 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites, which SpaceX successfully communicated with while in orbit before the satellites burned up during atmospheric reentry.
The Starship upper stage survived atmospheric reentry and executed a simulated splashdown in the Indian Ocean, enabling drone inspection of its heat shield tiles. This milestone validates Starship's potential to serve SpaceX's most profitable business segment.
Booster Landing Failure Continues
The Super Heavy booster experienced issues during its landing burn sequence, failing to properly ignite all required engines. The booster had a hard splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. Sources differ on characterization, with some describing it as an explosion while others note it was a controlled splashdown.
This flight followed an aborted launch attempt on July 16, when ignition was halted due to Raptor engine failures. SpaceX replaced six engines between the abort and the successful July 24 liftoff.
Market Scrutiny Intensifies
The mixed results come under heightened investor scrutiny following SpaceX's historic IPO, the largest in history. SpaceX stock reached an intraday peak of $225.64 on June 16, 2026, before declining in subsequent trading sessions.
The repeated booster landing failures highlight a critical bottleneck in achieving full reusability. Without a reusable Super Heavy booster, the economic advantages of Starship's massive payload capacity remain diminished, potentially slowing Starlink constellation expansion.
What Comes Next
Starship remains central to SpaceX's strategy of drastically reducing access-to-space costs through full reusability. The V3 configuration represents ongoing iterations aimed at increasing payload capacity and reliability. Company officials maintain their "fly, fail, fix" development philosophy, though public market investors may demand faster progress toward consistent success.
The successful satellite deployment and upper stage performance demonstrate meaningful progress, even as booster recovery continues to elude engineers. Each test flight generates data critical to resolving the landing burn sequence issues that have now affected multiple missions.