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SpaceX's 15th Starship test flight is set to test a major part of Elon Musk's reusable rocket ambitions: bringing the spacecraft's upper stage back to its launch site for a landing. The company plans to attempt the recovery at Starbase, Texas, rather than send the vehicle for a conventional splashdown at sea.
This is not a routine landing attempt. SpaceX has previously caught the Super Heavy booster using the launch tower's mechanical arms, but it has never tried the same approach with the Starship spacecraft itself.
SpaceX's 15th Starship test flight is set to test a major part of Elon Musk's reusable rocket ambitions: bringing the spacecraft's upper stage back to its launch site for a landing. The company plans to attempt the recovery at Starbase, Texas, rather than send the vehicle for a conventional splashdown at sea.
This is not a routine landing attempt. SpaceX has previously caught the Super Heavy booster using the launch tower's mechanical arms, but it has never tried the same approach with the Starship spacecraft itself.
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The mission is scheduled to launch from South Texas on November 13, subject to regulatory approval. The Federal Aviation Administration had not issued the required launch license as of Friday morning.
If the flight proceeds as planned, the Super Heavy booster will return to the launch tower roughly six and a half minutes after liftoff. The upper-stage spacecraft, known as Ship, will remain in orbit for much longer before attempting its return.
SpaceX expects Ship to complete around 14 orbits over more than 22 hours. The recovery attempt would take place on November 14, with the tower's giant mechanical arms designed to catch the returning vehicle.
The test flight has another aim. Starship is expected to launch 26 satellites that are the next-generation Starlink V3, contributing to SpaceX's ever-expanding satellite constellation. Yet, SpaceX does not intend to make an attempt at landing the craft if there are any issues during its flight.
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Recovering both segments would be a major success for SpaceX. The organization is looking to cut down on the resources spent preparing its rockets for launch, eventually aiming for a much shorter flight turnaround.
SpaceX’s Starship is equally crucial to NASA's plans for future manned moon missions. However, for that to happen, SpaceX will first have to prove a number of capabilities, including in-space refueling. This may well be an opportunity to do that via Flight 15.