SpaceX's Starship splashes down in Indian Ocean after successful test flight

SpaceX's Starship completed its 13th test flight, splashing down intact in the Indian Ocean after deploying Starlink V3 satellites and testing heat shield upgrades. The flight is the first since SpaceX's June IPO and demonstrates progress toward NASA's lunar landing contract.

This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of Space Tech, and 16 sources have reported it between 20 Jul 2026 and 5 Aug 2026.