Overview
- SpaceX launched the 13th integrated Starship test flight from Starbase on Friday and completed a roughly one-hour suborbital mission of the V3 vehicle.
- The Starship upper stage deployed 20 production Starlink V3 satellites that extended panels, ran brief tests and were allowed to reenter as planned after deployment.
- The upper stage demonstrated an in‑space Raptor relight and returned largely intact to a splashdown in the Indian Ocean about an hour after liftoff.
- The Super Heavy booster failed to relight enough Raptor engines for a nominal landing burn and made a high‑velocity hard splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico instead of a soft splashdown or tower catch.
- SpaceX and regulators are now analyzing telemetry and hardware to find causes and next steps, and a recent GAO report warns Raptor development delays and test risks could affect NASA's Artemis timelines.