SpaceX completed the 13th test flight of its Starship rocket, deploying 20 next-generation V3 Starlink satellites for the first time. The mission was a technology demonstration rather than an expansion of customer service, testing both the satellites’ higher-capacity systems and Starship’s development towards a rapidly reusable launch vehicle.

The V3 satellites were designed for up to 1 Tbps of downlink capacity and 160 Gbps of uplink capacity, respectively 10 and 22 times the capability of V2 satellites. They deployed solar arrays, antennas and laser links, then re-entered and burned up about 20 minutes later; two were modified to photograph Starship’s heat shield. The Super Heavy booster completed stage separation and part of its boostback burn but suffered engine relight failures and exploded on impact with the ocean, while Starship followed a planned return-style trajectory before splashing down in the Indian Ocean.