Starship Test Flight 13

SpaceX launched Starship Flight 13 from Starbase, Texas, sending 20 third-generation Starlink satellites on the vehicle’s first Starlink deployment during a suborbital test flight. The 407-foot Super Heavy-Starship stack lifted off at 5:51 p.m. ET, and the booster separated about two minutes into flight before a controlled but hard splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico during a simulated landing. The Starship upper stage continued across space, released the satellites, and completed a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The flight followed a July 16 abort after four engines failed to ignite, prompting SpaceX to replace two Raptor engines.