Oct. 6, 2026 · Ship 40 comes home: the Starship that floated after its Indian Ocean splashdown is due at the Port of Brownsville Wednesday

October 6, 2026 · Starship · Port of Brownsville

Ship 40 comes home: the Starship that floated after its Indian Ocean splashdown is due at the Port of Brownsville Wednesday

Starship Ship 40 strapped onto yellow cradles on the deck of the heavy-lift ship Forte at dusk — Ship 40 on the deck of the heavy-lift ship Forte off Christmas Island, from SpaceX's Aug. 27 photos. Photo: SpaceX.

Ship 40, the Starship upper stage from Flight 13, is almost back. The heavy-lift ship Forte lists Brownsville as its destination and an arrival of 14:00 UTC Wednesday, Oct. 7, about 9 a.m. Central, on the VesselFinder tracking service this afternoon. Ship arrival times shift with weather and port schedules, so treat it as a target.

Why it matters: Flight 13 launched from Starbase on July 24. Ship 40 landed gently in the Indian Ocean and tipped over to float. "Starship is intact, floating in the ocean and transmitting telemetry!" Elon Musk posted. The San Antonio Express-News called it "the first Starship recovered after going to space."

The recovery: SpaceX said its crew battled "increasingly rough seas" to guide the 52-meter spacecraft to port. A tug brought it to Christmas Island, where engineers spent several days inspecting it and "collected heatshield samples."
The payoff: SpaceX says the team "gained vital insight into how the vehicle handled reentry with improvements now planned on future vehicles."
The trip: on Aug. 27, SpaceX said Ship 40 was loaded onto a semi-submersible ship "to begin the several month journey back to Starbase."

Same day: the Starbase City Commission votes Wednesday at 7 p.m. on a SpaceX development agreement for land outside city limits. Here's what that kind of deal can do.

Tonight on Highway 4: the city has posted a road delay from 11:59 p.m. Tuesday to 4 a.m. Wednesday, listed as "Masseys to Production." Boca Chica Beach is open, and no beach closure order is posted.

Sources: VesselFinder, Forte (read Oct. 6) · SpaceX, Aug. 7 · SpaceX, Aug. 27 (inspection) · SpaceX, Aug. 27 (loaded) · Space.com on Flight 13, July 24 · San Antonio Express-News, Aug. 29 · Engadget, Sept. 8 · City of Starbase, beach and road access (read Oct. 6)

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