SpaceX's Starship megareocket deployed 20 Starlink V3 satellites into a suborbital trajectory for the first time during its 13th flight test, launching from Starbase, Texas, on Friday evening. The simulated payloads successfully connected to the existing Starlink network via lasers before the vehicle concluded its roughly one-hour flight with a planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
The test marked the first time Starship survived a water landing intact, though the Super Heavy booster impacted the Gulf of Mexico with greater force than expected after its own descent. The deployed satellites were expected to burn up in the atmosphere upon re-entry.
The milestone supports SpaceX's plan to begin launching thousands of Starlink V3 satellites with Starship by late 2026, a fleet designed to add AI-processing capabilities to the broadband constellation.