What were the key outcomes and implications of SpaceX's 13th Starship test flight on July 24, including the first deployment of Starlink V3 satellites, the upper stage's performance and soft splashdown, the Super Heavy booster's engine reignition failures and hard splashdown, the

Upper stage (Ship) performance and soft splashdown

• The Starship upper stage survived atmospheric reentry with a notably cleaner heat shield than previous flights, then executed its most controlled descent to date, making a "soft" upright splashdown in the Indian Ocean before tipping over .
• SpaceX described it as the "softest splashdown ever" for Starship, and the vehicle remained largely intact — a major step forward for reentry and landing control .

Super Heavy booster engine reignition failure and hard splashdown

• The Super Heavy booster separated successfully and flew a controlled descent to the Gulf of Mexico, but during the final landing burn, five engines failed to relight or experienced ignition problems .
• This resulted in a "hard splashdown" — a high-speed, off-nominal impact that was harder than intended but still within the designated splashdown zone .

Pre-flight abort on July 16

• An earlier launch attempt on July 16 was automatically aborted at T-0 due to several engines failing to ignite during the startup sequence . SpaceX resolved the issue and successfully launched on July 24.

NASA OIG watchdog report on Starship delays

• In March 2026, NASA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) — not the GAO — released a report finding that SpaceX's Starship development for the Artemis III Human Landing System (HLS) has been delayed at least two years since the contract award in July 2021 .
• SpaceX requested a 15-month delay in 2023, pushing the initial Artemis III delivery date past June 2025 . The OIG concluded the vehicle would not be ready for a June 2027 moon landing and that further delays are likely, with the landing target subsequently moved by NASA to 2028 .
• Key remaining hurdles include a vehicle-to-vehicle cryogenic propellant transfer demonstration — an unprecedented in-space operation — and unresolved crew safety gaps .

Relevance to NASA's Artemis program

• Starship was selected in 2021 as the Human Landing System for Artemis III and Artemis IV, making its test flight progress directly tied to NASA's schedule for returning astronauts to the Moon .
• Flight 13 demonstrated that Starship can deploy payloads in space, survive reentry with a cleaner heat shield, and execute a controlled splashdown — all incremental milestones that de-risk the vehicle for eventual lunar missions .
• However, the Super Heavy booster's repeated landing failures (also seen on Flight 12 in May 2026) underscore that full and rapid reusability — critical for the high-cadence launches needed for Artemis refueling — is not yet solved .
• NASA closely monitored Flight 13 as a critical step toward certifying Starship for crewed lunar landing, but the OIG's finding of at least two years of cumulative delays means these test flight successes are running behind the original Artemis III timeline .

Bottom line: Flight 13 was a meaningful step forward for Starship's upper stage and payload deployment capability, but the booster recovery problem persists, and the March 2026 NASA OIG report confirms that Starship's Artemis HLS development is years behind schedule, putting the 2028 moon landing target at continued risk.