SpaceX launched its massive Starship rocket from Starbase, Texas, in its 13th test flight, the first since the company’s record IPO last month. The Super Heavy booster detached about two minutes into flight and made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, while the upper stage achieved a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Approximately 18 minutes after liftoff, SpaceX successfully deployed 20 new Starlink V3 satellites, designed to be larger and more powerful with solar arrays generating twice the power of previous generations. The rocket, the largest ever built, is intended to be fully reusable and is crucial for expanding Starlink, returning U.S. astronauts to the moon, and powering manned missions to Mars, with a major NASA test flight planned for next year. SpaceX’s stock has dropped 43% from its peak on June 16, falling in four of the past five weeks.
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