Spaceflight Daily Report, Friday 24th July 2026

Image credit: SpaceX

Launch of Starship Flight 13

SpaceX launched a Starship from Starbase in Texas at 2251 UTC, or 1751 local time (CDT). This was a suborbital test flight of the rocket, with no attempt to recover the booster or the ship. The booster failed to re-ignite all of its engines ahead of its planned water landing and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico much faster than expected, which marks yet another series of engine failures for this rocket. The ship deployed twenty Starlink satellites as a test, which burned up in the atmosphere. The ship's re-entry and landing was successful, managing to re-light all of its engines and settling down in the Indian Ocean for the softest landing so far achieved. Pending the review of this flight's data, the next flight of Starship is expected to be its first attempt to reach orbit. [Source: SpaceX]

International Space Station Activities

The crew of the International Space Station prepared for the departure of the MS-28 crew this weekend, as well as carrying out routine research and maintenance. [Source: NASA]

ESA Awards Rover Contract to ispace

The European Space Agency have awarded a contract to Japanese company ispace to build and land a rover called MAGPIE at the lunar south pole. It will hitch a ride to the surface aboard the company's fourth lunar lander, contracted by JAXA and currently aiming to launch in 2029. ispace have yet to successfully land on the Moon, with their two previous attempts both ending in failure. Mission 3 will be the next attempt in 2028. [Source: ispace]

Announcement of CAPSTONE 02

NASA have announced a new technology demonstration mission called CAPSTONE 02, in which two small spacecraft will fly to lunar orbit and demonstrate rendezvous and proximity operations. The two spacecraft will be built by Terran Orbital, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, and are aiming to launch in 2027. [Source: NASA]