Elon Musk's Flight 13 Starship lands successfully in the Indian Ocean; remained afloat for five days

SpaceX's Starship 40 (Flight 13) achieved a soft splashdown landing in the Indian Ocean, remaining intact and afloat for five days.

Previous Starship test flights exploded or broke apart upon splashdown; Flight 13's landing burn and engine cutoff sequence worked flawlessly.

The 171-foot V3-generation Starship upper stage is made of steel with about 18,000 heat-shield tiles and six Raptor 3 engines.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk shared a video of the intact Starship on X, captured by a Starlink satellite.

SpaceX is sending a ship to recover the intact Starship 40 from the Indian Ocean.