SpaceX Starship still floating 5 days after flight | Space photo of the day for July 29, 2026 - Space

What the report says

Space.com reported that SpaceX’s Starship Version 3 upper stage remained afloat in the Indian Ocean days after its latest flight test, highlighting a new company image shared after splashdown. The photo, posted by SpaceX on X and described by Space.com as its July 29, 2026 “space photo of the day,” shows the scorched vehicle floating off Western Australia after Flight Test 13.

According to the report, SpaceX launched the 408-foot-tall Starship system on July 24 on a suborbital test flight. The upper stage, which is 171 feet tall, made what Space.com described as the vehicle’s gentlest splashdown so far. SpaceX said on July 28 that the stage was still afloat in the Indian Ocean, and the headline noted it was still floating five days after the flight.

The development matters because Starship is central to SpaceX’s plan for a fully and rapidly reusable launch system. The vehicle consists of the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage, both intended eventually to land, be inspected, refueled and flown again on short turnaround times. A largely intact upper stage remaining buoyant after reentry and ocean landing is a notable test outcome, though it is not the same as recovering and reusing the vehicle.

Space.com added that significant technical challenges remain, including the durability and reusability of Starship’s heat shield. The article also noted that video from the flight, including views associated with deployed Starlink satellites, offered unusually dramatic imagery from the test.