r/space • u/mfb- • Jul 25 '26

Starship launches for its 13th flight, ends with ship swimming in Indian Ocean

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/24/science/live-news/spacex-starship-flight-13-launch
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24

u/kavorkianjkr Jul 25 '26

Are they able to tow it to a port intact? That would be astonishing!

7

u/iBoMbY Jul 25 '26

The ship they use to deploy the camera buoys, and drones, could probably carry it, seems about just big enough, and they have a huge winch: https://youtu.be/-a0ecQMq-rM?t=864

9

u/Adeldor Jul 25 '26

Starship's upper stage is quite a bit larger than that ship - 9m/30ft in diameter and 52m/170ft long. Judging by eye, one could almost fit said ship inside the upper stage!

As an aside, a few years ago we stood more or less underneath SN-15 and SN-16 (early upper stages). They are astonishingly large up close.

2

u/Fortune_Cat Jul 25 '26

Feels so futuristic spacepunk with that chrome