SpaceX has launched a recovery operation in the Indian Ocean to retrieve Starship Ship 40, which achieved a soft splashdown following the company’s Flight 13 test on July 24, 2026. The vehicle remains intact after completing a series of ambitious milestones during its journey from Starbase, Texas.
According to mission updates, Ship 40 successfully deployed 20 Starlink V3 satellites, demonstrated in-space engine relights, survived the intense heat of atmospheric reentry with its heat shield largely preserved, and executed a controlled soft landing in the ocean. The recovery ship is now heading to the splashdown site to secure the 170-foot-tall spacecraft and return it for detailed analysis.
Images released by SpaceX show crew members in orange safety vests posing triumphantly beside the bobbing Starship at sunset, highlighting the team’s excitement over the vehicle’s condition. The successful soft splashdown marks a significant step forward in SpaceX’s efforts to prove rapid reusability for its Starship architecture.
While Ship 40 performed strongly, the Super Heavy booster experienced a more challenging splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. Data from both components is being collected to refine future flights.
“Every test brings us closer to full and rapid reusability,” a SpaceX team member noted in post-flight commentary. Engineers are poring over telemetry and visual data to understand heat shield performance, engine reliability in space, and overall vehicle behavior during reentry and landing.
The flight advances SpaceX’s broader goals of developing a fully reusable transportation system capable of carrying crew and cargo to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Starship Flight 13 builds on lessons from previous tests, showing steady progress in the critical reentry and landing phases that have historically posed the greatest challenges.
Recovery of Ship 40 will allow SpaceX engineers to conduct a thorough post-flight inspection, potentially enabling the vehicle to fly again after refurbishment. The operation underscores the company’s commitment to iterative testing and rapid turnaround as it works toward operational Starship missions.
This latest achievement comes amid growing momentum for SpaceX’s ambitious timeline, with future flights expected to test even more demanding profiles on the path to routine orbital operations and interplanetary travel.
