SpaceX flies upgraded Starship V3 for the first time

Overview

Updated Jul 26

Starship completed its 13th test flight on July 24, 2026, deploying 20 Starlink V3 satellites and achieving the vehicle's first fully intact Ship splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The Super Heavy booster had a harder-than-planned water landing: only 5 of its 13 engines were firing at impact. SpaceX called the overall mission a success.

SpaceX stock (SPCX) hit an all-time low of $110.85 on July 23, then recovered slightly to $114.25 after the flight. A lockup expiration on August 6 will make 911.5 million insider shares — worth roughly $116 billion at current prices — eligible for sale for the first time. Elon Musk and a core group of insiders stay locked until mid-2027.

Why it matters

Starship is NASA's Moon rocket, and V3's booster has yet to land intact — while SpaceX shares trade below their IPO price.

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Key Indicators

408 ft

Total stack height

The Block 3 vehicle is the tallest rocket ever to fly.

18M lbs

Liftoff thrust

About 9% more thrust than any prior rocket, from 33 Raptor 3 engines on the booster.

$85.7B

IPO capital raised

SpaceX priced at $135 a share on June 12 — the largest IPO in U.S. history. Stock hit an all-time low of $110.85 on July 23. About 911.5 million insider shares worth ~$116B unlock August 6.

$18.7B

SpaceX 2025 revenue

Starlink drove $11.4 billion of that total. SpaceX lost $4.9 billion last year and has spent over $15 billion developing Starship.

2028

Artemis 4 lunar landing target

NASA's first crewed Moon landing of the Artemis program depends on Starship working as a lander.

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People Involved

Elon Musk

Founder and chief executive of SpaceX

Leading SpaceX through IPO preparations while overseeing Starship development

Gwynne Shotwell

President and chief operating officer of SpaceX

Running day-to-day operations through the IPO process

Jared Isaacman

Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Set Artemis 4 as first crewed lunar landing under his leadership

Chun Wang

Private astronaut; designated commander of SpaceX's first Mars flyby mission

Announced as commander of first private Starship Mars flyby; no launch date set

Organizations Involved

SpaceX

Aerospace company

SPCX hit an all-time low of $110.85 on July 23, 2026, then recovered to $114.25 after Flight 13's mostly successful launch. A lockup expiration on August 6 will release 911.5 million insider shares worth ~$116B. Q2 earnings — the first since the June IPO — are due August 4.

Private rocket and satellite company that dominates global commercial launch and operates the Starlink internet constellation.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Federal Agency

Customer for Starship Human Landing System under Artemis program

The U.S. civil space agency, currently planning its first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Blue Origin

Commercial Space Company

Competing lander provider for NASA Artemis program

Jeff Bezos-backed rocket company developing the Blue Moon MK2 lunar lander as a competitor to Starship HLS.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

Federal Agency

Closed Flight 12 mishap investigation; cleared Starship for Flight 13 in July 2026

Regulator that issues commercial launch licenses and grounds vehicles after mishaps.

Timeline

April 2023 July 2026

20 events Latest: July 23rd, 2026 · 1 month ago Showing 8 of 20

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July 2026
SPCX hits all-time low of $110.85
Latest Financial

SpaceX stock fell to $110.85, an all-time low, before recovering to $114.25 the following day after Flight 13 launched successfully.
July 23rd, 2026
Bloomberg: $116B in SpaceX insider shares set to unlock August 6
Financial

Restrictions on 911.5 million SPCX shares lift August 6, two days after SpaceX's first post-IPO earnings report. Musk and a select group of insiders remain locked until mid-2027.
July 21st, 2026
SPCX falls below its $135 IPO price
Financial

SpaceX shares closed below their offering price for the first time. By July 24, SPCX was at $114.25 — about 15% below the IPO price and roughly half the all-time high of $225.60.
July 15th, 2026
SPCX joins the Nasdaq-100
Financial

SpaceX entered the Nasdaq-100 index less than a month after its IPO, triggering automatic buying by index funds.
July 7th, 2026
June 2026
SpaceX lists on Nasdaq as SPCX, raising $85.7 billion
Financial

Shares priced at $135 and opened at $150, closing the first day at $160.95. The raise — including underwriter overallotment — set a U.S. IPO record. The order book was more than twice oversubscribed.
June 12th, 2026
May 2026
FAA grounds Starship; orders mishap investigation into Booster 19
Regulatory

The FAA classified the Booster 19 hard water impact as a mishap and required a SpaceX-led investigation before further flights. The probe focused on why multiple Raptor 3 engines failed during the boostback burn.
May 27th, 2026
Flight 12 launches; Ship 39 succeeds, Booster 19 crashes in Gulf
Test Flight

Starship's rescheduled V3 debut lifted off from Pad 2 on May 22. Ship 39 deployed 22 satellites and splashed down on target in the Indian Ocean. Booster 19 suffered multiple Raptor 3 engine failures during the boostback burn and hit the Gulf of Mexico at roughly 1,500 km/h.
May 22nd, 2026 • 22:30 UTC
Starship V3 lifts off on Flight 12
Test Flight

SpaceX launched the first V3 vehicle from Starbase Pad 2. The mission plan included deploying 20 Starlink simulators, relighting a Raptor in space, and splashing the booster down in the Gulf of Mexico.
May 21st, 2026 • 22:30 UTC
Flight 12 countdown scrubbed at T-40 seconds
Scrub

A hydraulic pin on the Starbase launch tower arm failed to retract during the final countdown. Elon Musk confirmed the issue on X and said the repair would allow a second attempt the following evening.
May 21st, 2026 • 22:30 UTC
SpaceX names Chun Wang commander of first private Starship Mars flyby
Announcement

During the Flight 12 webcast, SpaceX announced that Chun Wang—co-founder of Bitcoin mining pool F2Pool and commander of the 2025 Fram2 Crew Dragon mission—will lead the first private crewed Starship flight to Mars, a two-year flyby with no landing. No launch date was given.
May 21st, 2026
SpaceX prospectus reportedly readied for filing
Financial

Bloomberg and NPR reported preparations for SpaceX's $75 billion IPO, targeting a June 12 Nasdaq listing.
May 20th, 2026
SpaceX files S-1 with SEC, first public look at company finances
Financial

SpaceX registered with the SEC under proposed ticker SPCX, disclosing $18.7 billion in 2025 revenue, a $4.9 billion net loss, and more than $15 billion in cumulative Starship development spending. The filing targets a $75 billion raise at roughly $1.8 trillion valuation, with roadshow starting June 8.
May 20th, 2026
First Starship V3 fully stacked at Pad 2
Pre-launch

SpaceX completed a second wet dress rehearsal with Booster 19 and Ship 39 on Starbase's new second launch pad.
May 19th, 2026
Starbase construction worker dies in fall; OSHA investigation opened
Safety

Jose Luis Bautista, 25, fell eight feet from scaffolding at the Starbase facility and died of blunt-force trauma. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened a formal investigation; results are expected to take months.
May 15th, 2026 • 05:15 local
February 2026
NASA names Artemis 4 as first crewed Moon landing
Policy

Administrator Jared Isaacman moves the crewed landing from Artemis 3 to Artemis 4 in 2028, with Artemis 3 demoted to a lander test.
February 27th, 2026
March 2025
Flight 8 upper stage breaks up over Florida
Failure

The Ship lost engines and attitude control after staging, scattering debris and triggering an FAA investigation.
March 6th, 2025
October 2024
SpaceX catches Super Heavy booster on the tower
Milestone

Flight 5 ended with Mechazilla catching the returning Super Heavy. The Ship landed on target in the Indian Ocean.
October 13th, 2024
June 2024
Flight 4 ends with first soft splashdown
Test Flight

Booster 11 completed its profile and Ship survived reentry, performing a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
June 6th, 2024
November 2023
Flight 2 demonstrates hot staging
Test Flight

All 33 booster engines fired through ascent and hot staging worked, but both stages were lost before reaching orbit.
November 18th, 2023
April 2023
Flight 1 clears the pad, then breaks up
Test Flight

The first integrated Starship test reached 40 km before losing engines and self-destructing. The launch mount was destroyed.
April 20th, 2023

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Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

November 1967

Saturn V's first flight (November 1967)

NASA flew the 363-foot Saturn V uncrewed on Apollo 4, producing 7.6 million pounds of thrust. The all-up test approach put a working third stage and command module on the first launch, against the advice of many engineers.

Then

The flight worked. NASA cleared Saturn V for crewed flight in under a year.

Now

Saturn V flew 13 times without losing a crew and landed astronauts on the Moon six times. The rocket retired in 1973 with no failures.

Why this matters now

Saturn V is the closest historical analog for what Starship V3 is trying to do: a fully integrated heavy-lift vehicle tested against a Moon-landing deadline. Starship's fail-and-fly approach is the philosophical opposite of Saturn V's all-up perfection.

January 1986

Space Shuttle Challenger (January 1986)

Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch, killing seven astronauts. An O-ring in a solid rocket booster failed in cold weather, after engineers had warned of the risk the night before.

Then

NASA grounded the Shuttle for 32 months. Schedule pressure and risk acceptance came under congressional scrutiny.

Now

The Shuttle never flew its planned cadence again and retired in 2011. The U.S. lost crewed launch capability until SpaceX's Crew Dragon flew in 2020.

Why this matters now

Challenger is the warning attached to any program that mixes commercial pressure, government schedule commitments, and aggressive flight cadence. Starship will eventually carry humans for NASA, and the IPO timeline adds a financial driver that did not exist for Shuttle.

February 2018

Falcon Heavy demonstration (February 2018)

SpaceX flew Falcon Heavy for the first time, sending Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster toward Mars orbit. Two side boosters landed back at Cape Canaveral simultaneously; the center core missed its drone ship.

Then

Falcon Heavy won U.S. Space Force and commercial contracts within months.

Now

The rocket has flown more than a dozen times with no losses and remains the second-most-powerful operational launcher. It validated SpaceX's iterative test approach to federal customers.

Why this matters now

Falcon Heavy showed that SpaceX could move from one rocket to a heavy-lift architecture in a single test campaign. Starship is the same playbook scaled by roughly a factor of three in thrust.