SpaceX flies 13th Starship test, deploys 20 upgraded Starlinks
What's new: The upper stage reached the Indian Ocean intact, but the booster made a hard Gulf splashdown after multiple engines failed to relight.
SpaceX launched its 13th Starship test flight Friday from Starbase, Texas, marking the first mission since the company’s IPO and the second for the latest V3 vehicle. The roughly 122-meter rocket released 20 upgraded Starlink V3 satellites, the first in-flight test of the more powerful design, before those satellites re-entered and burned up as planned. Starship’s upper stage later splashed down in the Indian Ocean and appeared to preserve its heat shield better than in prior flights. But the Super Heavy booster hit the Gulf hard after several engines failed to relight for the landing burn, underscoring how far SpaceX still has to go on full reusability.