Shall we go through the recovery and return to base of Starship 40 in detail?
Ship 40 made history during Starship Flight 13 by remaining fully intact after its Indian Ocean splashdown, prompting SpaceX to undertake an unprecedented 75-day maritime recovery operation. Instead of relying solely on telemetry, engineers can now conduct hands-on forensic analysis of the 171-foot (52-metre) upper stage to accelerate the path to full vehicle reuse.
Because it was not designed to be a seagoing vessel, towing the massive spacecraft back to port was a major logistical challenge. The recovery required specialized heavy transport and a careful navigation strategy to safely cross the globe.
The Recovery Journey
Splashdown & Initial Tow
July 24, 2026
Ship 40 successfully completed its orbital test and splashed down softly in the Indian Ocean. A SpaceX recovery team secured the floating vehicle and began towing it through increasingly rough open-ocean swells.
Calmer Waters at Christmas Island
August 18, 2026
After 24 days of battling challenging sea conditions, the tow teams successfully guided Ship 40 to the sheltered, calmer waters off the coast of Christmas Island, an Australian territory south of Indonesia.
Loading the Forte
August 26–27, 2026
The heavy transport ship Forte (a semi-submersible vessel) arrived to pick up the rocket. The ship deliberately lowered its deck below the waterline, floated Ship 40 into position, and then raised itself back up to secure the spacecraft.
Arrival at Port of Brownsville
October 7, 2026
Following a 2.5-month ocean transit, the Forte arrived at South Padre Island in Texas.
Return to Starbase
October 10–11, 2026
Ship 40 was carefully offloaded from the transport vessel and rolled horizontally back to the Sanchez Site at Starbase.
Key insight: Ship 40’s return isn’t about flying this specific vehicle again. The hardware will be meticulously stripped and studied to evaluate heat shield performance, structural fatigue, and engine sealing after a full atmospheric reentry and water landing.
Ship 40 is now standing vertical inside Megabay 2 at Starbase. After Flight 13 splashdown in the Indian Ocean, 75 days at sea, recovery near Christmas Island, and return via Forte, it was rolled to the production site and lifted onto a transport ring with the new break-over device for inspection.
What specific engineering data and hardware analysis is SpaceX hoping to extract from the recovered Ship 40?
SpaceX is using Ship 40 as a physical specimen for its engineering team to study how the vehicle’s Thermal Protection System and stainless-steel hull survived atmospheric reentry and a post-splashdown tip-over.By inspecting the hardware firsthand, engineers aim to bridge the gap between in-flight telemetry and actual physical wear to improve future designs.
The core areas of forensic analysis include:
- Heat Shield Degradation:Engineers have collected physical heat-shield samples and are cross-referencing the recovered surface with onboard temperature logs and flight video.This helps isolate the extreme thermal and plasma damage sustained in the atmosphere from the mechanical wear and corrosion caused by weeks of towing through saltwater.
- Structural Integrity:Because Ship 40 is the first 171-foot upper stage to remain mostly intact after splashing down and tipping over into the ocean, it provides unprecedented data on structural fatigue. Teams can evaluate how the stainless-steel airframe and weld lines handle both aerodynamic stress and harsh water impacts.
- Rapid Reusability Feasibility:SpaceX’s ultimate goal is an upper stage that returns to the launch site, is caught by the tower, and flies again with minimal refurbishment.By identifying which components require extensive replacement and which held up well, this inspection directly informs what design changes are needed to make rapid turnaround economically viable.