U.S. “Starship” completes its 13th test flight, with the spacecraft splashing down in the Indian Ocean

PANews July 25, according to CCTV News: the U.S. space exploration technologies company’s heavy-lift rocket “Starship” lifted off from a launch base in southern Texas on the afternoon of July 24, Central U.S. time, conducting its 13th test flight. The first-stage “Super Heavy” boosters splashed down in the waters near the Gulf of Mexico, and the second-stage “Starship” spacecraft completed a suborbital flight and splashed down in the Indian Ocean. During the spacecraft’s flight, all six engines ran normally and it deployed 20 next-generation “Starlink” satellites. The spacecraft also briefly restarted one engine in space to verify in-orbit ignition capability required for future Moon landing missions. About 1 hour and 5 minutes after launch, the spacecraft splashed down in the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia.