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Starship Flight 13 deploys Starlink V3-class satellites and splashes down; booster lands hard in the Gulf
On Starship's 13th test flight, the second of the larger V3 version, the ship released 20 real Starlink V3 satellites for the first time, relit a Raptor engine in space and made its softest splashdown yet in the Indian Ocean. The Super Heavy booster was lost: several engines failed to restart for its landing burn and it hit the Gulf of Mexico hard.
- Earlier flights carried dummy mass simulators; this time the payload was working V3 satellites, testing the deployment system under real conditions.
- The flight path was suborbital, so the 20 satellites re-entered and burned up as planned shortly after release.
- Each V3 satellite is rated for up to 1 Tbps of downlink, roughly ten times a V2, and 160 Gbps of uplink.
- The ship stayed intact and afloat after splashdown, giving engineers rare post-reentry data on its heat shield.
- The booster's failed engine relights mean booster recovery on V3 remains unproven going into the next flights.