SpaceX's Starship Remains Afloat Days After Record-Setting Test Flight

A newly released image from SpaceX shows the company's Starship Version 3 still floating in the Indian Ocean several days after completing its latest flight test, highlighting another milestone in the company's efforts to develop a fully reusable launch system.

The photograph, shared by SpaceX on July 28, captures the upper stage of the massive rocket resting in the water off the coast of Western Australia, days after the vehicle successfully completed Flight Test 13 on July 24.

Standing 408 feet (124 meters) tall at launch, Starship followed a suborbital trajectory before its upper stage executed what SpaceX has described as its smoothest splashdown to date. The gentle landing left the spacecraft largely intact, allowing it to remain afloat in the ocean days after completing its mission.

In the image, the heat-scorched 171-foot (52-meter) upper stage rises above the water, its blackened exterior giving it the appearance of a submarine or even an orca whale resting at the surface.

The successful recovery marks another encouraging step for SpaceX as it continues testing technologies designed to make Starship rapidly reusable. During Flight Test 13, the company also captured dramatic video from cameras aboard the spacecraft and from newly deployed Starlink satellites, providing striking views of the mission from space.

Starship consists of two fully reusable components: the Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage spacecraft, also called Starship. SpaceX's long-term goal is to recover both stages after every mission, quickly inspect and refuel them, and return them to service within days—an approach that could dramatically reduce the cost of future launches.

Despite the latest success, significant engineering challenges remain before that vision becomes reality. One of the biggest obstacles is improving the durability and reusability of Starship's heat shield, which must withstand the extreme temperatures generated during atmospheric reentry. Developing a system capable of surviving repeated flights with minimal refurbishment remains one of the most demanding aspects of the program.

Even so, having the upper stage remain largely intact and still floating in the ocean several days after splashdown represents another important achievement for SpaceX as it moves closer to creating a fully reusable spacecraft capable of supporting missions to Earth orbit, the Moon and eventually Mars.