SpaceX admits rescue of intact Starship from ocean 'does not look promising'

SpaceX has released new photos and videos of the rescue operation to recover the Starship Ship 40 spacecraft from the Indian Ocean. The 52-meter vehicle, which took part in the 13th test flight, remained afloat after splashdown, but its recovery to port is facing serious difficulties.

SpaceX said on social media platform X that the search and recovery team continues efforts to retrieve the ship, but specialists are hampered by challenging conditions and increasing sea swell. The company noted that transporting the Starship to port is complicated both by weather and by the vehicle's size — hooking and towing a 52-meter rocket hundreds of kilometers is no easy task.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk offered a more cautious assessment: he admitted that saving the ship does not look promising at the moment. However, he added that teams have managed to obtain detailed images of critical sections of the heat shield and engines — data that will be useful for future upgrades.

The situation is notable because Ship 40 has become one of the most successful vehicles in the Starship program. Its predecessor exploded during splashdown, so Ship 40 surviving the 13th test flight came as a surprise to everyone — no one expected the ship to remain intact and stay afloat.

Despite the uncertainty over the outcome of the recovery, the very fact that the ship survived splashdown already gives SpaceX engineers valuable data for further work on the program. However, the ultimate fate of the surviving Starship remains in question.