GoKawiil
Tech News
SpaceX launched its 15th Starship test flight from Starbase, Texas on Friday, aiming for the first dual catch of both the Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage spacecraft. The booster catch attempt was scrapped, and it was instead directed to land in the ocean. The flight also carried new Starlink v3 satellites, continuing deployment toward the company's broader satellite internet network.
SpaceX plans to launch Starship's Flight 15 mission on November 13, pending regulatory approval, with a 75-minute launch window opening at 5:45PM Eastern. For the first time, the company will attempt to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the Ship upper stage using its launch tower's mechanical arms, after previously catching only the booster. The mission will also attempt to keep Ship in orbit for roughly 22 hours, circling Earth about 14 times and deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites.
Elon Musk announced during SpaceX's earnings call that the company plans to attempt catching both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage, known as 'Ship,' using the launch tower's mechanical arms on the vehicle's next test flight, possibly as early as next month. SpaceX shared a simulation video showing how the catch would work, marking the first attempt to recover the upper stage rather than let it splash into the ocean as in previous flights.
Elon Musk said during SpaceX's third-quarter earnings call that the company plans to try recovering both stages of its Starship system—the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft—during its next flight. The attempt would use launch-tower arms to catch the vehicle mid-air, aiming for what Musk called the first full recovery of an orbital launch system in history.
SpaceX plans to launch its Starship rocket from Starbase, Texas on Monday morning within a 75-minute window opening at 8:15 a.m. EDT. Flight 14 will attempt to send the vehicle's upper stage into Earth orbit for the first time, where it is meant to deploy 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites before splashing down in the Pacific near Chile after roughly 10 hours and six orbits.
SpaceX is preparing to launch its fourteenth full-scale Starship test flight on Monday, pending regulatory approval. The plan calls for Starship to orbit Earth six times over ten hours at an altitude of 171 miles before attempting a soft landing, following hardware changes to the Super Heavy booster after only 10 of 13 engines relit during the last landing attempt in July.