The V3 Starship completed SpaceX’s strongest reentry to date and released 20 next-generation Starlinks, though its booster struck the Gulf of Mexico after too few engines reignited during descent.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
SpaceX launched its 407-foot Starship rocket from southern Texas on Friday, sending the spacecraft more than 10,000 miles across the globe while deploying 20 of the company’s most advanced Starlink satellites.
The approximately hourlong mission ended in the Indian Ocean, where the stainless steel spacecraft descended upright and made a gentle splashdown before remaining afloat as SpaceX concluded its webcast. Employees at the launch site cheered as the vehicle completed what the company described as its best reentry so far.
NASA monitored the test because Starship is expected to serve as a lunar lander for future moon crews.
Friday’s mission was the 13th test flight of the world’s largest and most powerful rocket and the second flight this year using the upgraded version known as V3. SpaceX did not plan to recover either the first-stage booster or the spacecraft, with both vehicles instead intended to end their flights in the ocean.
The launch followed an aborted attempt July 16, when six of the booster’s 33 engines failed to ignite and the countdown was stopped at the last moment. SpaceX replaced those engines before Friday’s flight. Thick clouds associated with Tropical Storm Bertha caused an additional delay Thursday.
All 33 booster engines fired successfully during Friday’s liftoff. The return sequence was less successful, however, because too few engines reignited as the booster approached the Gulf of Mexico. The booster descended too quickly and struck the water rather than completing a controlled landing.
The spacecraft continued eastward and reached an altitude of roughly 124 miles, or 200 kilometers, before releasing the 20 Starlink satellites individually from its Pez-style deployment system.
All 20 satellites completed their assigned tasks before reentering over the Indian Ocean. After deployment, they established laser communications with older Starlink satellites already in orbit.
SpaceX now operates more than 10,000 Starlink satellites, giving the company the largest satellite constellation in the world.
Six of the newly deployed satellites carried cameras positioned to photograph Starship’s heat shield near the end of the flight. The cameras transmitted detailed images as the spacecraft completed reentry and floated in the ocean.
Sensors embedded in the heat shield also collected measurements of the extreme forces acting on the spacecraft during the mission. Although most of the thermal-protection tiles were black, SpaceX intentionally painted some of them white to simulate missing tiles and test how the shield would perform under damaged conditions.
“We got all the heat shield data we needed and then some!” SpaceX founder Elon Musk said on X.
SpaceX engineer Kate Tice described the mission as “lucky flight 13.”
“We’re really pumped about this,” Tice said.
The intact spacecraft hovered vertically above the Indian Ocean before settling into the water. Only a small number of flames were visible around it, a marked improvement over previous missions that ended with Starship engulfed in fire, exploding at splashdown or breaking apart before reaching the surface.
The May test flight also suffered engine problems that prevented the booster from making a controlled return.
SpaceX is concentrating heavily on the durability of Starship’s heat shield before attempting to guide the spacecraft back to the Starbase launch facility near the Texas-Mexico border. The company has already demonstrated the use of two giant mechanical arms at the launch tower to capture returning boosters and eventually plans to use the same system to catch the spacecraft.
Both stages of Starship are being designed for full reusability.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated SpaceX after the mission.
“Excited for what will be learned from this mission,” Isaacman wrote on X.
NASA needs Starship to complete testing and begin reaching orbit so the Artemis III crew can prepare for future lunar operations. The mission is expected to include three American astronauts and one Italian astronaut, who are scheduled to practice docking their capsule with Starship next year.
Musk also intends to use Starship for human missions to Mars and has begun booking private passenger flights around the moon and to Mars.
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