13th Starship test flight
SpaceX launched its 13th Starship test flight on July 24, 2026, the first such mission since the company's record initial public offering the previous month. Approximately two minutes into the flight, the Super Heavy booster separated from the Starship as planned. SpaceX employees referred to the launch as "lucky number 13" during the livestream.
Starlink V3 satellite deployment
The mission deployed 20 Starlink V3 satellites, which were designed to incinerate in orbit about 20 minutes after deployment. Each test flight provides hard data that either narrows or widens the gap between promise and reality for the vehicle, which SpaceX views as central to vastly expanding the Starlink network, returning U.S. astronauts to the lunar surface, and eventually powering crewed missions to Mars.
Booster recovery difficulties
Difficulties emerged during the booster's descent. SpaceX said in a statement that the booster "attempted to relight its engines for the landing burn," but only a portion of the engines fired properly ahead of a "hard splashdown." The Super Heavy nevertheless executed a guided water landing in the Gulf.
Starship splashdown and heatshield data
SpaceX characterized the mission as an overall success. The Starship upper stage came down in a "soft splashdown" in the Indian Ocean, "coming to rest intact in the Indian Ocean and providing critical views of an intact heatshield for the first time." The company said the heatshield data will be vital for perfecting future landing procedures.
SPCX trading and IPO context
SpaceX trades under the ticker SPCX following an IPO that raised billions and valued the company at over $200 billion. Shares of SPCX have fallen 43% since closing at an all-time high on June 16, 2026, reflecting investor concerns over technical setbacks such as the booster landing failure even as SpaceX highlights progress on satellite deployment and heatshield performance. The stock is now approaching $100, a level where, according to analysis cited alongside the mission report, "AI operations are valued at zero."
SpaceXAI operations and next milestones
Separately, SpaceXAI's Grok 4.5 model, described as having 1.5 trillion parameters, ranked 11th on the OpenRouter token-share leaderboard. Looking ahead, SpaceX is preparing Starship for a significant NASA test flight scheduled for next year and is developing Starmind satellites intended to function as orbital data centers once deployed.
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