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Starship

Flight 13 left Ship 40 floating intact in the Indian Ocean. On July 28 Elon Musk said SpaceX is sending a vessel to recover it — while Flight 14 planning continues with no official window yet.

Starbase11 ships · 2 boosters in work

Next: Flight 14 TBD
Ready: 16%
Latest: F13
Updated: July 28, 2026

Next flight

Ship 40Ship 40 recovery FleetFleet board

Current signal

SpaceX is going after Ship 40.

After Flight 13’s intact Indian Ocean soft splashdown, Elon Musk said SpaceX is sending a ship to recover Starship. Track the float, the recovery attempt, and what comes back for inspection — while Flight 14 hardware keeps moving at Starbase.

Read the Flight 13 report Open Ship 40 board

Read the Flight 13 report

Ocean recovery · Ship 40 tracker

Going after boatship. · Indian Ocean · recovery tasked

Updated July 28, 2026

01Done
Soft splashdown
July 24
02Done
Float + imagery
July 24–27
03Done
Recovery vessel tasked
July 28
04Done
Locate & approach
August 1
05Now
Secure · Tow
In Progress
06Watch
Inspect + Net Steps
TBD

Analysis · August 4, 2026

SpaceX’s first public earnings call: the vertical-integration masterclass

Revenue $7.8B (+92% YoY), adjusted EBITDA $3.5B, $100B cash, and Musk’s Starship heat-shield “solved” line — plus the $100B ARR and $1T-by-2030 roadmap. Full breakdown of the numbers, the call, and what it means.

Read the earnings analysis

01 / Campaign readiness

Next flight

Flight 14 TBD · No official Flight 14 window published yet

Readiness

16%

FAA clearance

40%

Prior clearance only

Mission package

10%

Not published

Vehicle hardware

25%

Stack unassigned

Launch operations

Not started

Mission profile

10%

Not published

Next window

Not published

Confirmation gates

1/8

Flight 13 Results Reviewed
Done
Flight 14 Mission Profile Published
Open
Flight Hardware Selected Publically
Open
Preflight Cryo Tests
Open
Preflight Static Fires
Open
Mission Authorization Confirmed
Open
Integrated Stack Ready
Open
Flight 14 Rarget Window Published
Open

Flight objectives

Primary

Booster flight test

Objectives TBD pending the Flight 14 mission package. Expect continued work on boostback and landing-burn reliability after Flight 13’s hard splashdown.

3 checkpoints

Publish booster objectives with the mission package
Confirm hardware and software changes from Flight 13
Attempt a controlled splashdown or catch profile as published

Primary

Ship flight test

Objectives TBD pending the Flight 14 mission package. Flight 13 proved an intact soft splashdown; the next ship goals are not yet public.

3 checkpoints

Publish ship objectives with the mission package
Confirm heat-shield and recovery goals for Flight 14
Execute the published ascent and recovery profile

Secondary

Payload / secondary goals

Any Starlink or secondary objectives for Flight 14 will appear with the official mission package.

2 checkpoints

Confirm whether a payload flies on Flight 14
Publish deployment or secondary test goals if applicable

Spotlight / Ocean recovery

Ship 40

Updated July 28, 2026 · Indian Ocean · recovery tasked

Ocean recovery

Going after boatship.

Ship 40 soft-splashed in the Indian Ocean on Flight 13, floated, and kept returning imagery. On July 28 Elon Musk said SpaceX is sending a vessel to recover Starship — a first-of-its-kind retrieval attempt for an intact upper stage.

Flight 13 report

Source · X

Open post

“We’re sending a ship out to recover Starship”
@elonmusk · July 28, 2026

SpaceX · Flight 13 splashdown

Recovery timeline

01DoneJuly 24
Soft splashdown
Ship 40 completed a powered soft splash in the Indian Ocean and came to rest intact.
02DoneJuly 24–27
Float + imagery
The ship floated for days and kept returning views of an intact heatshield — later spotted still afloat.
03DoneJuly 28
Recovery vessel tasked
Elon Musk said SpaceX is sending a ship out to recover Starship.
04DoneAugust 1
Locate & approach
Recovery asset finds Ship 40 on station and closes for a secure attempt.
05NowIn Progress
Secure · Tow
If recovery succeeds, bring the hardware in for post-flight inspection — not a return-to-flight commitment.
06WatchTBD
Inspect + Net Steps
Ship 40 arrives at the port in Australia, and SpaceX announces the next steps.

Site / Boca Chica

Starbase

Live Mapbox Satellite map of the production campus, Massey’s, and the Gulf pads. 19 fleet vehicles currently tagged on site.

OSM

Starfactory

Production site

Ring / barrel production

25.9877°N · 97.1861°W

Hardware here

Ship 43In work
Ship 44In work
Ship 45In work
Ship 46In work
Ship 48In work
Ship 47In work
Ship 49In work
Ship 50In work
Ship 51In work

Tour order

Road & beach access

Closures

Highway 4 and Boca Chica Beach windows for Starbase testing and flight ops. Status refreshes automatically about every 45 seconds.

Official status

Watch

2 upcoming Highway 4 / beach windows

City of Starbase is the source of truth for Highway 4 and beach access. Launch Library may add non-conflicting flight-campaign windows only. For SMS alerts, text BEACH to 866-513-3475.

Live feed · connecting…

Get road closure alerts

Push when Highway 4 / beach access is restricted for Starbase transport or testing.

Road Delay: Production to Pad
Scheduled
Road Delay
Starts
Tue Aug 25
12:00 PM
Ends
Same day
04:00 PM
Central time · CDT
Boca Chica Beach closures.
Scheduled
Boca Chica Beach closures.
Starts
Wed Aug 26
06:30 AM
Ends
Same day
09:00 PM
Central time · CDT

02 / Build pipeline

Fleet

Active flight hardware at Starbase — most ready first. Tap a pipeline stage to filter. Ground test tanks are listed below.

In work: 13
Ships: 11
Boosters: 2
TanksTest tanks: 3

Production flow

Barrel → Stack → Cryo → Engines → Fire → ReadyBarrel sections → Stack → Cryo → Engines → Static fire → Flight ready

All13

Ships

Ship 41
CryoTesting
Mega Bay 2
Fitting out / engine installation. Completed cryo testing earlier; actively in engine install phase in the production area. Expected for Flight 14 (with plans discussed for a catch
Ship 42
BarrelsIn production
Mega Bay 2
Under construction / stacking. Received both aft flaps (reported July 25); stacking progressing (nosecone/payload section and related work).
Ship 43
BarrelsIn production
Starfactory
Under construction / stacking.
Ship 44
BarrelsIn production
Starfactory
Under construction / stacking.
Ship 45
BarrelsIn production
Starfactory
Under construction / stacking.
Ship 46
BarrelsIn production
Starfactory
Under construction / stacking.
No photo attached
Ship 47
BarrelsIn production
Starfactory
No photo attached
Ship 48
BarrelsIn production
Starfactory
No photo attached
Ship 49
BarrelsIn production
Starfactory
No photo attached
Ship 50
BarrelsIn production
Starfactory
No photo attached
Ship 51
BarrelsIn production
Starfactory

Boosters

Booster 21
CryoTesting
Mega Bay 1
Fitting out / post-cryogenic testing. Completed cryo proof tests at Massey’s (including full loads around July 17–22), then rolled back to Mega Bay 1. Expected for Flight 14. Engin
Booster 22
BarrelsIn production
Mega Bay 1
Under construction / stacking underway. Transfer tube recently moved into Mega Bay 1 (as of July 25); stacking of LOX tank sections and related hardware progressing.

Ground test hardware

Test tanks

Structural and cryo pathfinders at Massey’s and the production site — not part of the flight production flow above.

Active tanks

B18.3 Test Tank
UnstagedTesting
Massey’s
V3 Super Heavy structural test tank for the integrated hot-stage ring. Buckled at the common dome during Jan 2026 proof work, repaired, and returned to Massey’s in March 2026 for f
No photo attached
S43.1
StackingTesting
Mega Bay 2
No photo attached
B18.1 Test Tank
CryoStacked
Masseys

03 / Milestones

Program timeline

Program-level gates — first flight, catch, payload, recovery, and what still sits ahead.

Program progress

5 of 11 gates cleared · now at Ship Tower Catch

45%

Apr 2023Done
First Integrated Flight
Flight 1 left the pad as a stacked Starship and Super Heavy — the start of the flight-test program.
June 2024Done
First Soft Slashdown
Flight 4 was the first successful controlled (soft) ocean landing/splashdown of a Starship upper stage.
Oct 2024Done
First Booster Catch
Flight 5 returned Super Heavy into the tower arms, proving mechanical recovery of the first stage.
Jul 2026Done
First Starlink deployment
Flight 13 deployed 20 Starlink V3 satellites from Starship on a suborbital trajectory.
Jul 2026Done
First Intact Boatship
Ship 40 soft-splashed intact in the Indian Ocean and floated while still returning imagery.
ETA Flight 14Next← You are here
Ship Tower Catch
Catching a returning ship on the tower arms remains the next major recovery milestone after booster catch.
ETA Flight 14Next
Orbit Flight Attempt
Flight 14 aims for a full orbital trajectory — Starship’s first true orbit attempt after suborbital flight tests.
ETA Flight 14Next
Orbital Payload Delivery
Delivering operational payloads all the way to orbit — beyond suborbital deployment demos.
TBDWatch
In-Orbit Refueling
Propellant transfer between Starships, required for lunar and deep-space missions including HLS.
TBDWatch
Artemis Flight lll
Starship must attempt to dock with the Orion spacecraft to prove HLS capabilties.
TBDWatch
Rapid reuse
Turnaround of caught boosters and ships into follow-on flights without long rebuild cycles.