SpaceX’s Starship Completes 13th Test Flight and Splashes Down Intact

Overview

• SpaceX launched the 13th integrated Starship and Super Heavy test flight Friday, which ran a planned roughly one‑hour suborbital profile and ended with Starship reentering and splashing down intact in the Indian Ocean.
• The mission released 20 third‑generation Starlink test units that SpaceX contacted by radio and laser but did not place into sustained orbit; those units burned up on reentry about 20 minutes after release.
• SpaceX said the Super Heavy booster returned with more engine relights than in May but struck the Gulf of Mexico with more force than expected after an early end to its return burn.
• The V3 Starship configuration used structural and propulsion‑sequencing changes and collected telemetry on a repaired thermal shield and an in‑space Raptor ignition that the company says validate design adjustments for faster reuse.
• The flight advances SpaceX’s 목표 to support NASA lunar plans and mass Starlink deployment by providing real‑flight data on recovery, reentry heat protection and satellite‑deployment procedures, following iterative tests since 2023.