SpaceX to Attempt Historic Double Catch of Starship and Super Heavy Booster

A 124-meter-tall black-and-silver rocket stands on the Texas coast as SpaceX prepares its 15th test flight.

SpaceX schedules the launch of its Starship megarocket from its Texas base on Friday, with the window opening at 4:45 p.m. local time (22:45 GMT). The flight will last more than 22 hours, pending final approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The mission marks a critical milestone because the company intends to retrieve both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage during the same flight. While SpaceX has previously caught the lower booster three times using mechanical arms at its launch tower, it has never attempted to recover the upper stage after an orbital journey.

“If it succeeds, that will constitute a major advance,” Clayton Swope of the Center for Strategic and International Studies explained.

Beyond the historic recovery attempts, the upper stage will deploy 26 Starlink satellites into orbit.

Catching Both Rocket Stages

The flight profile requires precision timing as both components return to Starbase in Texas. The Super Heavy booster will separate from the spacecraft and descend back toward the launch mount six minutes and 35 seconds after liftoff, where mechanical arms known as “chopsticks” on the Mechazilla tower will attempt to secure it, according to france24.com and lebigdata.fr.

The upper-level Starship will continue into orbit to release its payload before beginning its own descent. This return maneuver is more complex than the booster catch because the spacecraft enters the atmosphere at a higher speed and from a greater altitude, according to france24.com.

SpaceX will only proceed with the maneuvers if conditions are favorable, maintaining safety abort options to alter the trajectory and direct the spacecraft toward a controlled ocean splashdown if necessary, lebigdata.fr reported. The company views full reusability as the ultimate goal to dramatically reduce launch costs and increase flight frequency.

Starship Flight 15 launch details and payload

When will the Starship Flight 15 launch take place?

The launch is scheduled for Friday, with a 75-minute window opening at 4:45 p.m. local Texas time (22:45 GMT), according to france24.com and lebigdata.fr.

What payload is Starship carrying on this mission?

The upper stage will deploy 26 next-generation Starlink satellites into orbit to expand the company’s internet constellation, as reported by france24.com and lebigdata.fr.

How long will the flight test last?

The mission duration will exceed 22 hours as the spacecraft performs approximately 14 orbits around the Earth before returning to the launch site on Saturday, according to france24.com and lebigdata.fr.

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