SpaceX attempts to retrieve the Starship upper stage primarily to advance full reusability and accelerate development.
- On Friday, the company said it is still attempting to retrieve the vehicle’s upper stage from the Indian Ocean after the last test flight in July.
- On SpaceX’s August 4 second-quarter earnings call, Musk said Flight 14, targeted for later this month, will be the first attempt at reaching operational orbit.
- SpaceX revealed earlier this month that it spent $1.08 billion in space segment research and development alone in Q2, predominantly covering Starship costs.
SpaceX said on Friday its recovery team is still attempting to retrieve the Starship upper stage from its 13th flight test after it landed in the Indian Ocean amid challenging conditions and increasingly rough seas, as crews try to guide the 52-meter spacecraft to port.
In a follow-up post on X, Elon Musk wrote that ship recovery “is not looking good right now.” He added that the team nonetheless obtained close-up photos of critical regions of the heat shield and engines for future upgrades.
SpaceX attempts to retrieve the Starship upper stage primarily to advance full reusability and accelerate development. Recovering it allows engineers to physically inspect the hardware and gather more data that can help validate upgrades.
Shares of the company closed up 16% on Friday, clocking its best day since mid-June.
Starship’s Flight 13
Starship’s 13th flight test lifted off on July 24 at 5:51 p.m. CT from Starbase, Texas—the second flight of the upgraded third version of the vehicle. After two earlier scrubs caused by an engine-related abort on July 16 and weather on the second try, the mission achieved several firsts. The Super Heavy booster of the two-stage launch vehicle completed its boostback burn but suffered a hard splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico after only a subset of engines ignited for landing.
The upper stage reached its planned suborbital trajectory, deployed 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites, marking the first such deployment, demonstrated an in-space Raptor engine relight, and executed a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The ship remained intact and afloat—the softest and first intact ocean landing in the program—while continuing to transmit imagery of its heat shield.
Upcoming Starship Flights
On SpaceX’s August 4 second-quarter earnings call, Musk said Flight 14, targeted for late August, will be the first attempt at reaching operational orbit, carrying production Starlink satellites. The company plans to try catching both the booster and ship with the launch tower this year and “possibly” the ship as soon as the next flight.
He projected flight cadence rising rapidly to at least one launch per day within a year, calling the heat-shield challenge “solved” based on Flight 13 data and aiming ultimately to deliver well over one million tons to orbit annually.
Elon Musk envisions Starship as a fully and rapidly reusable, super-heavy-lift vehicle that will transform spaceflight by ultimately delivering up to 10 million tons to orbit each year, enabling humanity to become multiplanetary through a self-sustaining city on Mars within 20 to 30 years while also supporting lunar bases, massive Starlink expansion, and orbital AI data centers.
Development centers on iterative flight testing to achieve full reusability, with recent milestones including successful V3 flights, a solved heat-shield challenge, and plans to catch both the Super Heavy booster and Ship with the launch tower this year.
SpaceX revealed earlier this month that it spent $1.08 billion in space segment research and development alone in Q2, predominantly covering Starship costs.
How Did SPCX Retail Traders React?
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around SPCX stayed within ‘bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume remained at ‘extremely high’ levels.
A Stocktwits user voiced hopes about SPCX rallying soon.
Another user, however, highlighted the company’s high Q2 loss despite its high valuation.
SPCX stock has fallen 17% after debuting on the Nasdaq in June.
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