SpaceX Brings Starship Back To Texas After Historic Ocean Splashdown

SpaceX has returned Starship Ship 40 to its Starbase production site after the spacecraft completed a suborbital flight and survived a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean, providing an opportunity to examine a largely intact vehicle after flight.

SpaceX shared nighttime footage on 13 October showing Ship 40 being transported horizontally through the Starbase complex before being positioned outside large hangar doors. The vehicle returned to Texas around 7 October, approximately 75 days after its splashdown.

Ship 40 flew on Starship Flight 13 on 24 July 2026 alongside Booster 20. During the mission, the spacecraft performed an in-space Raptor engine relight before making a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean. It remained largely intact and afloat after tipping over, rather than exploding.

After drifting for approximately 24 days, the spacecraft was towed to waters off Christmas Island, where it was inspected and heatshield samples were collected. It was then loaded onto the heavy-lift vessel Forte for transport back to Texas.

SpaceX says examining the flown spacecraft will provide first-of-its-kind post-flight data on its heatshield, Raptor engines, avionics and other systems. Ship 40 was raised vertically inside a Starbase Megabay around 12 October, alongside three other Starships.