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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →SpaceX has returned Starship Ship 40 to Starbase nearly three months after its July 24, 2026 launch on Flight 13. The 52-meter (171-foot) upper stage survived a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean, was towed across the ocean, shipped through the Port of Brownsville and lifted into the Starbase Megabay for inspection.
What happened to Ship 40
Ship 40 is the upper stage of SpaceX’s Starship vehicle. After Flight 13 launched on July 24, 2026, the spacecraft completed a controlled reentry and splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Instead of breaking apart on impact, it remained largely intact and afloat.
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That allowed recovery crews to treat the spacecraft as a salvageable vehicle rather than debris. In October, after almost three months at sea, Ship 40 stood vertically inside Starbase’s Megabay. Space.com and Associated Press reports describe the return as the first time a Starship upper stage has survived an ocean landing and been brought back to the launch site.
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The recovery was not a tower catch. It was a multi-stage ocean and land-transport operation carried out after the flight had ended.
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How SpaceX brought the spacecraft back
- Controlled splashdown: Ship 40 entered the Indian Ocean and came down under a planned flight profile. It remained afloat after touching the water.
- Twenty-four days of towing: Recovery crews towed the vehicle through rough seas for 24 days toward waters near Australia’s Christmas Island.
- Inspection near Christmas Island: Engineers examined the vehicle and collected heat-shield samples while it was in the area. This created an opportunity to remove material from a flown spacecraft before the longer transport leg.
- Loading onto Forte: The 52-meter vehicle was placed on the semisubmersible transport ship Forte for the voyage to the United States.
- Arrival at Brownsville: Forte reached the Port of Brownsville on October 7, 2026.
- Overland move to Starbase: Ship 40 was transported from the port by land and then lifted into the Starbase Megabay, where it was positioned vertically.
Why Ship 40 surviving matters
Earlier Starship upper stages were destroyed after hitting the ocean, leaving engineers with limited physical hardware to examine. Ship 40 is different: its structure, thermal-protection system and flight components can be inspected after an actual launch, atmospheric reentry and water landing.
SpaceX said the vehicle will provide “first-of-its-kind data on a flown Starship heatshield, Raptor engines, avionics, and more.” That evidence can be more useful than telemetry alone because engineers can inspect cracking, erosion, contamination, salt-water intrusion, deformation and attachment points directly.
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The available reports do not identify one specific modification that guaranteed Ship 40’s survival. What is established is that the spacecraft followed a controlled splashdown profile and stayed afloat long enough for a difficult maritime recovery. The resulting hardware access gives SpaceX a way to compare predicted performance with the condition of components that actually flew.
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How this recovery differs from previous Starship recoveries
| Comparison | Ship 40 | Earlier Starship upper stages | Super Heavy boosters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle stage | Starship upper stage | Starship upper stages | First-stage booster |
| Recovery mode | Ocean splashdown, towing, ship transport and overland haul | Ocean impact with no reported vehicle recovery | Recovery by the launch tower’s mechanical arms |
| Condition after return | Largely intact and afloat after splashdown | Destroyed after water impact | Several boosters have been recovered by the tower system |
| Elapsed recovery time | Nearly three months from the July 24 launch to return in October 2026; towing alone lasted 24 days | Not stated in the cited 2026 reports | Not stated in the cited 2026 reports |
| Inspection opportunity | Flown heat shield, Raptor engines, avionics and other hardware available for direct examination | Limited by vehicle destruction | Booster hardware can be examined after tower recovery, but this is a different stage and recovery environment |
What engineers can learn from the recovered vehicle
Heat-shield performance
Heat-shield samples taken near Christmas Island can reveal how the tiles and underlying structure handled the heating of reentry, vibration and the transition from atmosphere to ocean. Physical samples also allow examination of damage that sensors may not have characterized precisely.
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Raptor engines and propulsion hardware
The Raptor engines can be checked for wear, thermal effects, corrosion or other changes accumulated during launch, flight and splashdown. Access to flown engines helps validate maintenance assumptions and future refurbishment decisions.
Avionics and internal systems
Avionics, wiring, tanks, structural joints and other systems can be inspected for water exposure, shock loads and deformation. These findings can be compared with flight telemetry and post-flight predictions.
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Recovery-system planning
The 24-day tow through rough seas is itself operational data. SpaceX can assess how the vehicle behaved while afloat, what equipment was needed to secure it and how a large spacecraft can be transferred from open water to a heavy transport ship and then to land.
What comes next for Starship recovery
SpaceX has not announced an official date for the next Starship flight. Reports have described a possible future Flight 15 attempt to catch the returning upper stage with the launch tower’s chopstick-like arms, but only if the vehicle performs as expected and safety conditions are suitable. That remains a conditional plan, not a scheduled event.
A tower catch would be a fundamentally different recovery method from Ship 40’s salvage. It would require the upper stage to reach the tower in a controlled state and be captured immediately, avoiding weeks of ocean towing and heavy transport. Until SpaceX publishes a flight date and mission plan, the Ship 40 recovery is the company’s demonstrated method for returning an upper stage to Starbase after splashdown.
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