SpaceX's Super Heavy-Starship completed its 13th test flight Thursday with mixed results, as the third-generation rocket chalked up a mostly successful mission despite issues during the booster's descent.
What Happened
The 397-foot-tall rocket thundered away from SpaceX's Starbase in Texas at 5:51 p.m. EDT powered by 33 Raptor engines generating approximately 16 million pounds of thrust. The Starship upper stage performed as expected, reaching sub-orbital space with all six engines operating smoothly and deploying 20 third-generation Starlink internet satellites through the rocket's pez-like payload dispenser. Six of those satellites carried cameras to inspect the vehicle's heat shield tiles. The spacecraft demonstrated an in-space Raptor engine re-start before executing a belly-first re-entry and settling to a splashdown northwest of Australia one hour and five minutes after launch. Meanwhile, the Super Heavy booster appeared to perform as planned during ascent and its flip maneuver for descent, but only 10 of 13 engines restarted, with just five firing at splashdown, resulting in a higher-than-expected impact velocity described as a "hard" splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
Why It Matters
The test carries significant weight for NASA's Artemis program, which depends on a Starship variant to serve as its lunar lander. The vehicle must demonstrate the reliability required to safely launch approximately 15 tanker flights within days to refuel the lander before it can head to the moon's south pole to await two astronauts arriving in a Lockheed Martin-built Orion capsule. A crewed landing is currently targeted for 2028. SpaceX has yet to fly the lunar lander variant, and no Starship of any kind has been placed into Earth orbit.
The Bottom Line
Thursday's flight marks the second test of SpaceX's V3 Super Heavy-Starship configuration, building on lessons from an initial V3 launch in May that ended with a missed landing target and early engine shutdown. While booster issues persist during descent, the Starship upper stage demonstrated multiple capabilities critical to NASA's lunar ambitions.