SpaceX launches Starship on 13th test flight with most advanced Starlink satellites

Published Jul 24, 11:53 PM UTC

SpaceX successfully launched its Starship rocket on its 13th test flight from Starbase, Texas, on July 24, 2026. The 407-foot-tall rocket, the world's largest and most powerful, carried the most advanced Starlink satellites yet. Six of the 33 first-stage booster engines had failed to ignite during a previous launch attempt on July 16, causing an abort, but were replaced for this flight. The booster was not recovered, instead ditching in the Gulf of Mexico, while the spacecraft was bound for the Indian Ocean. The deployed Starlinks, carrying cameras to photograph Starship's heat shield, attempted laser communication with older Starlink models. NASA monitored the flight as a critical step toward using Starship as a lunar lander for the Artemis III mission. SpaceX also aims to eventually recover the spacecraft using giant mechanical arms at the launch pad.