It’s been more than two weeks since SpaceX’s Starship splashed down in the Indian Ocean following a largely successful thirteenth flight test. As of Friday, the recovery team was still working to bring the upper stage, known as “Ship,” back to shore, but in a post on X, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said it was “not looking good.” It’s unclear if the team made any headway over the weekend. If SpaceX chooses to abandon Ship (no pun intended), it will forfeit a first-ever post-flight inspection that would help engineers improve the rocket and progress toward rapid reusability. However, Musk noted that teams have been able to “obtain close-up photos of critical regions of the heat shield and engines for future upgrades” while the upper stage remains adrift. Unfortunately, ship recovery is not looking good right now. Nonetheless, we were able to obtain close-up photos of critical regions of the heat shield and engines for future upgrades. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2026 A first-of-its-kind opportunity Starship Flight 13 launched from Starbase, Texas, on July 24. This was the second flight of Starship Version 3 (V3), SpaceX’s latest iteration of the megarocket.
Following liftoff, ascent, and stage separation, the Super Heavy V3 booster made a hard splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico due to a partial engine ignition failure. The upper stage (Ship 40) continued on its planned trajectory and made a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean. To spectators’ surprise, it remained in one piece for the first time in the history of SpaceX’s Starship program. Not only that, but it remained airtight and afloat on the surface rather than sinking into the depths below.
