Elon Musk reveals SpaceX performed secret Starship test on Flight 13

SpaceX secretly used Starship's 13th test flight to push the ship's heat shield tiles to their limits by deliberately accelerating faster than normal. Past flights had problems keeping the ceramic tiles attached, but switching from adhesives to pins starting around Flight 10 brought major improvements. Musk confirmed the Flight 13 stress test was successful, and hinted Flight 14 may attempt to catch Starship mid-air.