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SpaceX plans Starship tower catch for next test flight, Elon Musk announces

Musk said the move would test reusability and faster turnaround times after the booster completed a new deorbit routine on the last flight.

  • On Friday, July 24, SpaceX launched its 13th Starship test flight from Starbase, Texas. The 407-foot-tall rocket, the world's largest, supports NASA's Artemis missions to the moon and Mars.
  • During the mission, the craft deployed 20 upgraded Starlink V3 satellites into suborbital space, with engineers verifying telemetry from all units before they re-entered Earth's atmosphere.
  • Starship reached the Indian Ocean intact after one hour, five minutes and 21 seconds, providing SpaceX "critical views of an intact heatshield for the first time." This data validates thermal protection for future reusable operations.
  • The Super Heavy v3 ship completed its high-thrust boostback burn but encountered difficulties during landing, with only a subset of engines igniting "before experiencing a hard splashdown in the Gulf," SpaceX said.
  • SpaceX CEO Elon Musk hopes the next test flight will see the Super Heavy ship caught by robot arms at Starbase, a move designed to reduce turnaround times and accelerate reusability for the launch system.
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KGBT broke the news in Harlingen, United States on Sunday, July 26, 2026.
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