SpaceX plans to attempt its first recovery of Starship’s upper-stage spacecraft at its South Texas launch site during a mission targeted for Friday, adding a second tower catch to a flight that would stretch into Saturday.
Liftoff from Starbase is targeted for 4:45 p.m. Central during a 75-minute window, Space.com reported. The mission would mark Starship’s 15th test flight.
The plan calls for the Super Heavy booster to return first, about six and a half minutes after launch. The upper-stage spacecraft would continue into orbit, deploy 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites and return for its own catch roughly 22 and a half hours after liftoff, according to Space.com.
SpaceX returned and caught Super Heavy V1 boosters on three previous flights, two of which were successfully used again, but this will be the first attempt to return and catch a Super Heavy V3 booster, according to SpaceX. It has never attempted a tower catch of the upper stage.
“If successful, this will mark the first full recovery of an orbital launch system and a breakthrough moment in making Starship a reliable, rapidly reusable rocket,” SpaceX said.
FAA approval remains a key condition. SpaceX had not received the required launch license as of Friday morning, Reuters reported. That status could change before the planned afternoon liftoff.
The FAA’s Friday operations advisory listed Flight 15 at Starbase and a separate reentry window on Saturday. The air traffic planning document does not itself establish that the agency has issued a launch license.
A second recovery challenge
The upper stage travels farther and faster than Super Heavy, making its recovery more challenging, Space.com reported. The outlet said SpaceX would abandon the spacecraft catch if flight problems arise and instead direct the vehicle toward a Pacific Ocean splashdown.
SpaceX first caught a booster during its fifth Starship test flight on October 13, 2024, as The Dallas Express previously reported. Friday’s plan would extend that recovery approach to the spacecraft the booster carries toward orbit.
The mission follows a September flight that reached orbit but ended after about three hours following engine problems, Reuters reported.
A successful catch would demonstrate recovery. SpaceX would still need to show that it can prepare the recovered spacecraft for another flight.
