Starship Flight 13 Reaches Key Milestones but Booster Lands Hard
Monday, 2026/07/27165 words3 minutes438 reads
On July 24, 2026, SpaceX launched the 13th test flight of its Starship system from Texas. The 407-foot rocket is the world's most powerful launch vehicle. This test came after a last-second abort on a previous attempt, which led engineers to replace six engines.
The mission showed mixed results. The Super Heavy booster failed to make a soft landing because not enough engines restarted during descent. It crashed hard into the Gulf of Mexico. However, the upper-stage Starship performed exceptionally well.
The upper stage released 20 third-generation Starlink satellites one by one, about 200 kilometers above Earth. Six of these satellites carried cameras to inspect the heat shield. Engineers also painted some thermal tiles white to simulate missing tiles and test the shield's durability. After an hour in flight, Starship made a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean and remained afloat. It was the best re-entry yet.
NASA is closely monitoring this program because Starship will serve as a lunar lander for future Artemis missions.
