SpaceX completes successful Starship test flight with ocean splashdown

SpaceX has successfully completed a test flight of its Starship megarocket, with the vehicle achieving a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean an hour after launch.

The flight marked the 13th test for the spacecraft and represented a successful recovery after an aborted launch attempt the previous week, which the company attributed to engine failure at liftoff.

This was the second flight for the V3 version of Starship, demonstrating progress in the rocket's development programme. The test comes as SpaceX continues refining the vehicle designed for deep-space missions.

The successful splashdown shows that SpaceX is making steady progress toward a fully reusable heavy-lift rocket system, with each test helping engineers understand how the vehicle performs under real flight conditions.

Gilbert