GoKawiilSpaceX to spend months transporting intact Starship 40 back to Texas
SpaceX's Starship 40 flew a suborbital test from Starbase, Texas, to the Indian Ocean in about 65 minutes on July 24, deploying and later intentionally destroying 20 Starlink V3 satellites to validate the deployment system. Unlike prior test flights, this upper stage survived splashdown mostly intact, and SpaceX says retrieving and shipping it back to Texas will take several months.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
An intact recovered stage gives SpaceX engineers physical hardware to inspect directly, rather than relying on telemetry and scattered debris, which could speed diagnosis of stresses and failures during reentry and splashdown. This matters for SpaceX's broader push toward full reusability of Starship, a key requirement for its ambitions in satellite deployment, lunar missions, and eventual Mars flights.
- Starship 40's suborbital test successfully validated satellite deployment mechanics.
- The spacecraft unexpectedly survived splashdown intact, unlike earlier test vehicles.
- Recovery and transport back to Texas for study will take several months.
LEGO Icons NASA Space Shuttle Discovery — If Starship's ocean recovery has you thinking about reusable spacecraft, this LEGO Icons build lets you assemble the original reusable orbiter piece by piece. It's a detailed display model with the Hubble telescope included, perfect for a desk shelf while you wait months for Starship 40 to sail home.
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Published there as: “SpaceX's recovered Starship 40 will take months to get back to Texas”
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