Starship Flight 13
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Starship V3 · Friday, July 24, 2026 · ★ Landmark flight

Starship Flight 13

First flight to deploy operational Starlink satellites. Starship survived splashdown intact and was later recovered; the booster was destroyed on its landing burn.

Result
Partial
Super Heavy
Lost
Starship
Splashdown
Duration
~1 hr 5 min

Photo: SpaceX

Flight replay

Watch Starship Flight 13

Video: VideoFromSpace (Space.com), not SpaceX. Watch SpaceX's official webcast.

The flight

What Happened

The third Block 3 (V3) flight and the first to carry operational payload. Starship deployed 20 third-generation Starlink satellites, relit a Raptor in space, came through entry, and flew the landing flip to a splashdown in the Indian Ocean off Christmas Island. It did not break up on contact with the water, which no Starship had managed before, and it floated long enough for SpaceX to inspect the heat shield by drone and then tow it ashore on August 18, 24 days after launch. Super Heavy did not fare as well: only 10 of its 13 engines relit for the simulated landing burn, and the booster hit the water faster than planned and was destroyed. The satellites themselves re-entered and burned up around 20 minutes after deployment, which was expected, because Starship is not yet flying fast enough to reach orbit; SpaceX reported contact with all 20 while they were in space. The flight reached the pad on its third attempt, after an abort at T-0 on July 16 and a weather scrub on July 23.

Firsts

  • First Starship flight to deploy operational Starlink satellites
  • First Starship upper stage to survive splashdown intact
  • First Starship upper stage recovered and towed ashore

Flight path

STARBASEINDIAN OCEANLOSTSPLASHDOWN1234567891011
The numbers match The Flight Plan below. Not to scale. A dashed line is a stage that did not finish its plan.

Two stages

Booster and Ship

Super Heavy boosterLost
Lost: only 10 of 13 engines relit for the landing burn, and it was destroyed on water impact
Starship upper stageSplashdown
Deployed 20 Starlink V3 satellites and splashed down intact, then was recovered

Objectives

  • Deploy operational third-generation Starlink satellites
  • Relight a Raptor engine in space
  • Fly a targeted entry, landing flip, and splashdown
  • Attempt a simulated landing burn on Super Heavy

Anomalies

  • Booster 20 lost during the landing burn after 3 of 13 engines failed to relight
  • Two scrubbed attempts before the flight flew: a T-0 abort on July 16 and weather on July 23

Minute by minute

The Flight Plan

SpaceX's plan, published before launch. The real flight can differ: What Happened above says how.

  1. T+00:00

    Liftoff

    Full stack

  2. T+00:58

    Max Q (moment of peak aerodynamic stress on the rocket)

    Full stack

  3. T+02:21

    Hot-staging (Starship Raptor ignition and stage separation)

    Full stack

  4. T+02:25

    Super Heavy boostback burn start

    Super Heavy

  5. T+06:27

    Super Heavy landing burn start

    Super Heavy

  6. T+08:05

    Starship engine cutoff

    Starship

  7. T+16:40

    Payload deploy demo start

    Starship

  8. T+38:58

    Raptor in-space relight demo

    Starship

  9. T+47:30

    Starship entry

    Starship

  10. T+1:05:01

    Landing burn start

    Starship

  11. T+1:05:21

    An exciting landing!

    Starship

The full SpaceX timeline (32 steps)
  1. T−50:00SpaceX Flight Director conducts poll and verifies GO for propellant load
  2. T−37:30Ship LOX (liquid oxygen) load underway
  3. T−37:00Booster LOX load underway
  4. T−35:25Booster fuel (liquid methane) load underway
  5. T−34:48Ship fuel load underway
  6. T−21:30Raptor begins engine chill on booster and ship
  7. T−02:50Booster propellant load complete
  8. T−02:10Ship propellant load complete
  9. T−00:30SpaceX flight director verifies GO for launch
  10. T−00:17Flame diverter activation
  11. T−00:03Booster engine startup command
  12. T−00:00Excitement guaranteed
  13. T+00:00Liftoff
  14. T+00:58Max Q (moment of peak aerodynamic stress on the rocket)
  15. T+02:18Super Heavy MECO (most engines cut off)
  16. T+02:21Hot-staging (Starship Raptor ignition and stage separation)
  17. T+02:25Super Heavy boostback burn start
  18. T+03:03Super Heavy boostback burn shutdown
  19. T+06:27Super Heavy landing burn start
  20. T+06:53Super Heavy landing burn shutdown
  21. T+08:05Starship engine cutoff
  22. T+16:40Payload deploy demo start
  23. T+27:39Payload deploy demo complete
  24. T+38:58Raptor in-space relight demo
  25. T+47:30Starship entry
  26. T+1:02:23Starship is transonic
  27. T+1:03:01Starship is subsonic
  28. T+1:05:01Landing burn start
  29. T+1:05:03Landing flip
  30. T+1:05:12Landing burn 3 to 2 engines
  31. T+1:05:19Landing burn 2 to 1 engine
  32. T+1:05:21An exciting landing!

Planned timeline · Source: SpaceX

Sources