SpaceX has carried out a mostly successful launch of its Starship rocket, in the model’s 13th test mission, in which the vessel launched satellites and spent just over one hour in a sub-orbital trajectory before splashing down in the Indian Ocean.

The rocket’s Super Heavy first-stage booster also splashed down, but at a faster velocity than planned as not all of its rockets fired during the manoeuvre.

The 24 July launch was the second for Version 3, or V3 of Starship, following its Flight 12 mission in May, the booster rocket experienced issues after stage separation and crashed instead of splashing down.

Image credit: SpaceXSub-orbital flight

Flight 13 was initially scheduled for 16 July, but experienced engine issues, while a second attempt on 23 July was cancelled due to weather.

During the flight, Starship deployed 20 Starlink satellites in a test of its deployment system. By design, the satellites returned into Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated.

The Starship V3 prototype re-enters Earth’s atmosphere. Image credit: SpaceX

The 40-storey-tall vessel then returned to Earth, firing its rockets to slow its descent before splashing down to float in the Indian Ocean.

NASA is funding the development of Starship to carry astronauts to the Moon in the Artemis IV mission, currently scheduled for 2028, but so far the vessel has yet to complete an entire Earth orbit, a decade after it was announced.

The rocket’s engines fired to slow its descent into the Indian Ocean, before splashing down. Image credit: SpaceXCrewed Moon mission

The mission plan includes lifting a fuel-filled version of Starship into orbit, using it to refuel a crewed Starship, sending the crewed vessel to land on the Moon and return, before executing a landing on a launch pad – none of these technologies having yet been tested.

Even so, Flight 13 was hailed as a success after many previous Starship tests ended with the craft exploding either in flight on on the launch pad.

The Starship V3 prototype floats in the oceean after splashdown. Image credit: SpaceX