Overview

• Liftoff occurred at 6:23 p.m. CDT from Starbase, Texas, using previously flown Super Heavy booster B15, with planned splashdowns of the booster in the Gulf of Mexico and the upper stage in the Indian Ocean.
• Engineers validated a revised 13-5-3 Super Heavy landing-burn sequence to measure real-world dynamics and improve redundancy, with SpaceX reporting a successful landing burn and splashdown.
• The Starship upper stage deployed eight Starlink-sized payload simulators and performed an in-space Raptor relight to demonstrate maneuvers needed for future missions.
• SpaceX intentionally removed select heat-shield tiles to stress-test vulnerable areas during reentry as part of efforts to achieve durable, rapidly reusable thermal protection.
• With Version 2 testing concluded, SpaceX shifts to Version 3 targeted for early 2026, as NASA continues to count on a Starship derivative for Artemis even as orbital propellant transfer and fast turnaround remain unproven.