SpaceX successfully deploys next-gen Starlink V3 satellites and lands starship despite booster hiccups
- Marijan Hassan - Tech Journalist
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Bouncing back from a pad abort and days of weather delays, SpaceX successfully launched its Starship V3 vehicle on its Flight 13 test mission on Friday last week, marking the first time the company has flown and deployed its next-generation Starlink V3 satellites into space. While the mission achieved historical upper-stage milestones, it was not without operational hiccups during the Super Heavy booster’s return sequence.
Suborbital Deployment and Laser Network Test
Reaching suborbital space above Earth, the Starship upper stage successfully deployed its primary payload: 20 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites. Designed to deliver gigabit internet speeds and offer more than ten times the downlink capacity of older V2 Mini models, the heavy-weight satellites briefly extended their solar arrays and established high-capacity laser links with SpaceX’s broader orbital network.
As planned for this initial flight test, the 20 V3 satellites remained on Starship’s suborbital trajectory, briefly transmitting telemetry before reentering Earth's atmosphere and burning up over the ocean roughly 20 minutes after deployment.
Booster Landing Engine Anomaly
Despite the successful deployment, the mission encountered problems during the booster's return.
The Super Heavy first stage failed to relight enough of its engines during its descent, preventing the planned controlled splashdown. Instead, the booster struck the Gulf of Mexico harder than expected, echoing a similar issue seen during an earlier Starship test flight.
However, the upper-stage Starship performed considerably better. It successfully restarted one of its Raptor engines in space, completed its planned flight profile, and executed its softest splashdown to date in the Indian Ocean while remaining largely intact.
Heat Shield Shows Major Progress
One of the mission's biggest successes came from Starship's heat shield.
Engineers intentionally equipped several of the Starlink satellites with cameras and sensors to collect detailed data during reentry. Some sections of the heat shield even simulated missing tiles to test the spacecraft's resilience under extreme conditions.
According to SpaceX, the vehicle suffered significantly less damage than in previous tests, marking another important step toward rapid rocket reusability.
Paving the Way for Future Missions
The successful flight brings SpaceX closer to making Starship its primary launch vehicle for both Starlink deployments and deep space missions.
NASA plans to use a modified Starship as the lunar lander for the Artemis program, while SpaceX ultimately intends to use the vehicle for missions to Mars. Demonstrating reliable satellite deployment, in-space engine relights, and improved reentry performance are all critical milestones toward those goals.
