Spacex's Starship Flight 13 Achieves Record Soft Splashdown
WHO:
CBS News - SpaceX, NASA, Blue Origin, Elon Musk, Dan Huot, Anil Menon
Space - Dan Huot, Tariq Malik
WHAT:
CBS News - The Starship upper stage successfully reignited one of its Raptor engines in space as part of a maneuvering test.
CBS News - The Starlink satellites deployed during the flight were the first Starlink V3 satellites to fly in space.
CBS News - The Starship's payload dispenser released the satellites one at a time from a slot near the nose of the vehicle.
CBS News - The Starship's performance was welcome news to NASA, which is counting on a variant of the upper stage to serve as a lunar lander for astronauts in the Artemis program.
CBS News - The Government Accountability Office reported that SpaceX is more than a year behind its original schedule for key events related to the Super Heavy-Starship program.
CBS News - NASA is pressing ahead with preparations for an interim Artemis flight next year in low-Earth orbit, which will involve four astronauts launched in an Orion capsule to test rendezvous and docking procedures.
CBS News - SpaceX launched its thirteenth Super Heavy-Starship rocket.
CBS News - The Super Heavy booster achieved a "hard" splashdown off the Texas Gulf Coast.
CBS News - The Starship upper stage successfully completed a sub-orbital hop to the Indian Ocean.
CBS News - The rocket is powered by 33 methane-fueled Raptor engines and is 397 feet tall.
Space - The Starship Flight 13 Ship made its "softest splashdown" ever in the Indian Ocean.
Space - The Starship deployed 20 third-generation Starlink internet satellites during the flight.
Space - Six of the Starlink satellites were equipped with cameras to inspect the Starship's heat shield.
WHERE:
CBS News - The launch took place at SpaceX's "Starbase," Texas, launch site.
CBS News - The booster splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico.
CBS News - The Starship upper stage landed northwest of Australia.
WHEN:
CBS News - The launch occurred at 5:51 p.m. EDT.
CBS News - The first landing of the moon lander variant is targeted for 2028.
CBS News - The original launch attempt was on July 16, which was aborted.
Space - The next SpaceX Starship Flight 14 is anticipated to occur after Flight 13.
WHY:
CBS News - NASA is counting on a variant of the Starship upper stage to serve as a lunar lander for astronauts in the Artemis program.
CBS News - SpaceX opted for splashdowns in the Gulf as a safety precaution for initial flights of the third-generation rocket.
HOW:
CBS News - The Super Heavy booster was designed to fly back to its launch gantry using mechanical arms known as "chopsticks."
CBS News - The Starship upper stage successfully reignited one of its Raptor engines in space as part of a maneuvering test.
CBS News - The Starship's payload dispenser released the satellites one at a time from a slot near the nose of the vehicle.
(UPDATED July 25, 2026 02:50 UTC)
In a significant development for space exploration, the Starship upper stage successfully reignited one of its Raptor engines in space during a maneuvering test, while also deploying the first Starlink V3 satellites. The payload dispenser released the satellites one at a time from a slot near the nose of the vehicle, and this performance is encouraging news for NASA, which plans to use a variant of the upper stage as a lunar lander for astronauts in the Artemis program. However, the Government Accountability Office has reported that SpaceX is over a year behind its original schedule for key events related to the Super Heavy-Starship program, as NASA continues preparations for an interim Artemis flight next year involving four astronauts launched in an Orion capsule.
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(UPDATED July 25, 2026 01:29 UTC)
SpaceX has successfully launched its thirteenth Super Heavy-Starship rocket from its Texas launch site, with the Super Heavy booster achieving a hard splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. During the flight, the Starship upper stage completed a sub-orbital hop to the Indian Ocean and deployed 20 third-generation Starlink internet satellites, six of which were equipped with cameras to inspect the Starship's heat shield. Looking ahead, NASA is counting on a variant of the Starship upper stage to serve as a lunar lander for astronauts in the Artemis program, with the first landing of this moon lander variant targeted for 2028.