Starship Flight 13 landed gently and floated for five days
SpaceX successfully completed the 13th test flight of its Starship spacecraft, achieving a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The massive steel structure remained intact on the water's surface for five days, marking a significant milestone for aerospace reusability.
Why it matters
Successful water landings of large-scale spacecraft are critical for the future of cost-effective, reusable space exploration.
A rocket has been floating on the surface of the Indian Ocean for the past five days and its pictures are all over the internet. While one would assume it to be a scene from a sci-fi movie, the image is of SpaceX's most recent spacecraft that made a successful return from space.On Friday, SpaceX launched Starship for the 13th time from its Starbase, Texas launch site on Friday, July 24. The upper stage Starship 40 made the softest splashdown landing in the Indian Ocean. The landing burn and engine cutoff sequence worked flawlessly, resulting in a better-than-expected soft water landing that also had the spacecraft remaining intact.
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