SpaceX launched the 15th test flight of its Starship rocket on Friday, aborting its plan to catch the Super Heavy booster at the launch tower and diverting it to splash down in the ocean. The upper stage is due to deploy Starlink satellites and return for a possible catch attempt about 22 and a half hours after launch.
The flight lifted off at 4:47 p.m. local time from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, inside a 75-minute launch window. SpaceX had obtained authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration earlier on Friday; hours later the FAA issued a nationwide ground stop after reporting communication problems but said the SpaceX license was unaffected.
Standing 124 metres tall, Starship is the tallest, heaviest and most powerful rocket ever flown. SpaceX has a long-held ambition to build a fully reusable rocket, and Starship is intended to lift cargo and people to the Moon and Mars. Nasa has contracted SpaceX to configure the Ship as a lunar lander for its Artemis programme, which aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2028.
The Super Heavy booster was due to return to the launch tower six and a half minutes after launch and be caught by the tower's mechanical arms, known as chopsticks. SpaceX had successfully caught the booster on three earlier flights, but on Friday it had to abort that attempt and divert the booster to the ocean.
"One successful flight will not prove that model, but it could mark an important transition: from demonstrating that Starship can fly, to demonstrating how Starship could operate," Prof Malcolm Macdonald, president of the Royal Aeronautical Society, told BBC News before the flight.
The upper stage, called the Ship, is scheduled to deploy a batch of 26 Starlink v3 satellites into orbit and then return for a catch attempt about 22 and a half hours after liftoff. SpaceX has never caught the Ship before; it has instead splashed down in the ocean. The company said it would assess the vehicle's condition in orbit before deciding whether to attempt the catch.
The flight is a step toward expanding SpaceX's Starlink internet constellation, which already numbers more than 11,000 active satellites. A single Starship can carry up to 60 Starlink v3 satellites, about 20 times the capacity of a Falcon 9, the company has said. In a social media post, SpaceX set a goal of "Starlink becoming 51% of the internet."
Analysts at William Blair wrote in a note Friday that SpaceX is “likely a full decade ahead of peers on this front” and that, even if the catch was unsuccessful, a delay of a few months would not be that consequential.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- A fully reusable Starship could dramatically reduce the cost of launching cargo and people, opening new possibilities in space.
- Nasa's timeline to return to the Moon depends on Starship's progress; delays could affect the 2028 goal.
- Expanding Starlink capacity with Starship could alter the economics of satellite internet and the global telecom market.
Background
SpaceX has been developing Starship since the early 2020s, with test flights beginning in 2023. The rocket is designed to be fully reusable, with both the booster and upper stage returning to the launch site. The company has already demonstrated reuse of its Falcon 9 booster more than a hundred times, but Starship is far larger. Nasa awarded SpaceX a contract to develop a version of Starship as a lunar lander for the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon. A rival lander is being developed by Blue Origin.
Key Perspectives
Prof Malcolm Macdonald, president of the Royal Aeronautical Society: A successful double catch would be visually spectacular, but full reusability has the potential to fundamentally change the economics of accessing space. One successful flight will not prove that model, but it could mark an important transition from demonstrating that Starship can fly to demonstrating how Starship could operate.
William Blair analysts: SpaceX is likely a full decade ahead of peers on the launch front. Even if tonight's catch is unsuccessful, a delay by a few months is not that consequential.
What to Watch
- The outcome of the Ship catch attempt, expected about 22 hours after launch.
- The pace of Starship flight testing and whether SpaceX can meet its commitments to Nasa for the Artemis lander.
- How rapidly SpaceX scales Starlink v3 deployments using Starship to increase coverage and capacity.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 2 sources: 10 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedSpaceX launched Starship’s test flight and aborted the planned Super Heavy booster catch, diverting the booster to the ocean.Tech: “SpaceX ... had to abort plans to catch and reuse the booster, instead diverting it to splash into the ocean.”
- SupportedThe upper stage was scheduled to deploy 26 Starlink v3 satellites.Tech: “was planning to release another 26 Starlink v3 satellites in the Friday test flight”
- SupportedThe upper stage was due back for a possible catch attempt about 22 and a half hours after launch.BBC News: “The Ship is then due to complete 14 orbits around the Earth before returning for the second catch attempt about 22 and a half hours after taking off.”
- SupportedThis was Starship’s 15th test flight.Tech: “SpaceX launched its 15th Starship test flight on Friday”
- SupportedThe flight lifted off at 4:47 p.m. local time.Tech: “The flight lifted off at 4:47 p.m. local time, or 5:47 p.m. ET.”
- SupportedThe FAA said its nationwide flight stoppage did not affect SpaceX’s license.Tech: “The SpaceX license wasn't effected by the flight stoppage, a spokesperson for the FAA told CNBC.”
- SupportedNASA contracted SpaceX to configure the Ship as a lunar lander for its Artemis programme.BBC News: “SpaceX has been given a Nasa contract to configure the Ship into a lander that will eventually take astronauts down to the lunar surface.”
- Partly supportedThe Artemis programme aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2028.BBC News: “The progress of Starship has direct implications for Nasa's attempt to land humans on the Moon in 2028 - a highly ambitious timeline.”
- SupportedProf Malcolm Macdonald said: “One successful flight will not prove that model, but it could mark an important transition: from demonstrating that Starship can fly, to demonstrating how Starship could operate.”BBC News: ““One successful flight will not prove that model, but it could mark an important transition: from demonstrating that Starship can fly, to demonstrating how Starship could operate.””
- Partly supportedA Starship can carry up to 60 Starlink v3 satellites, about 20 times the capacity of a Falcon 9.Tech: “One Starship rocket has the capacity to carry up to 60 Starlink v3 satellites into orbit, the company has said, representing about 20 times the capacity of earlier Falcon 9 rockets.”
- SupportedSpaceX set the goal of “Starlink becoming 51% of the internet.”Tech: “with the goal of "Starlink becoming 51% of the internet," SpaceX said in a post on X.”
- SupportedWilliam Blair analysts wrote that SpaceX was “likely a full decade ahead of peers on this front.”Tech: ““SpaceX is likely a full decade ahead of peers on this front,” William Blair analysts wrote in a note out on Friday.”