SpaceX Starship suborbital test deploys functioning Starlink V3 satellites but loses Super Heavy booster

SpaceX’s 13th full-scale Starship test flight delivered a milestone and a setback Thursday evening: The company successfully launched and deployed functioning production Starlink V3 satellites for the first time on a Starship test, but lost the Super Heavy booster during its return attempt.

Starship lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase site in Boca Chica, Texas, at 6:51 p.m. EDT on July 24, according to Space.com. The mission flew a suborbital test profile, not a trip to orbit, and carried 20 Starlink V3 satellites. It was the second flight of Starship’s V3, or Block 3, configuration and the first time SpaceX had flown production Starlink V3 hardware on a Starship test flight.

What made the payload test notable was what happened after deployment. The Associated Press reported that the satellites extended their solar arrays and antennas and communicated via laser links with older Starlink satellites already in orbit. AP also reported that six of the satellites carried cameras to image Starship’s heat shield, and that telemetry and images were returned during the mission.

The satellites were not intended to stay in space. SpaceX said in its mission description, as quoted by Space.com, that “the Starlink satellites will be on the same suborbital trajectory as Starship and are expected to demise upon reentry approximately 20 minutes after deployment.” In other words, they were released to test the dispenser system and the spacecraft themselves, then expected to burn up as they fell back through the atmosphere.

The flight still ended with a significant loss. AP reported that not enough engines relit during the Super Heavy booster’s return sequence, and the booster hit the Gulf of Mexico instead of making a controlled return. The upper-stage Ship continued along its planned suborbital path and completed the payload deployment sequence, according to AP and Space.com. Some other mission objectives were still being assessed in postflight reporting.

Thursday’s launch came after a last-second automatic abort on July 16, when multiple Super Heavy Raptor engines failed to ignite. Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO, wrote on X afterward that “some of the engines didn’t start, triggering an automatic launch abort.” Space.com reported, citing Musk’s posts, that SpaceX removed and replaced two engines before trying again. On the July 24 attempt, all engines fired at liftoff.

The mission also followed a recent regulatory review. The Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial rocket launches, closed its investigation into the previous Flight 12 mishap on July 13 and said Flight 13 could proceed if licensing and safety requirements were met. Flight 12, in May 2026, also ended with a booster loss, prompting that mishap investigation.

The progress matters beyond a single test. Starship is SpaceX’s next-generation launch system, and the larger, more capable Starlink V3 satellites are designed for the kind of high-volume deployment Starship is meant to support. That makes this flight an important test of both the satellite dispenser and the spacecraft themselves, even though the payloads were not headed for operational service. Starship’s development is also being watched closely by NASA, which is relying on a Starship-derived Human Landing System for future Artemis moon missions. As NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote on X, according to AP: “Excited for what will be learned from this mission.”