SpaceX’s Starship soars into orbit after booster explosion prevents an unprecedented double catch
SpaceX deployed 26 Starlink satellites and kept the upper stage on track for a planned tower catch after the booster’s recovery attempt was aborted.
- SpaceX launched Starship Flight 15 on Friday, successfully reaching orbit and deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites from Starbase, Texas at 5:47 p.m. EST.
- Minutes after stage separation, the Super Heavy booster detected a guidance, navigation and control issue and aborted its planned return to the launch tower, diverting to an offshore splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico instead.
- SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot confirmed "we were initially 'go' for a catch, but in the later stages of the coast the booster aborted itself for a GNC issue that it detected." The booster then detonated its flight termination system over the water.
- Despite the booster loss, Starship reached an orbital altitude of approximately 275 kilometers and completed its satellite deployment mission. The upper stage is now coasting in orbit for a planned 22-hour mission before attempting the first-ever spacecraft catch on Saturday.
- The mission advances SpaceX's goal of full rocket reusability, critical for NASA's Artemis lunar program targeting 2028. Previous Starship flights achieved three booster catches, but Flight 15 marks the first attempt to catch the upper stage from orbit.
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SpaceX’s Starship nears end of 15th test flight and return-landing attempt
By Joey Roulette STARBASE, Texas, Nov 14 (Reuters) - SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft cruised around the globe on Saturday nearing the end of its 15th test flight and what the company hoped would be an unprecedented pinpoint return landing...
SpaceX will attempt this November 14th to recover for the first time the second stage of its megarocket Starship, after a technical failure forced to rule out the recovery of its Super Heavy propellant, which ended up exploding in the water. During its fifteenth test flight, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket managed to launch 26 Starlink satellites into orbit.
The objective of this mission was to try to recover for the first time through these mechanical arms both the propellant and the Starship ship, which returns this Saturday.
SpaceX had to abort the "catch" process of the first stage of its giant Starship rocket, the Super Heavy, during its test flight yesterday, causing the returning launch vehicle to crash into the ocean and be destroyed. However, the upper stage of the system, the Ship, successfully continued its journey into space, and after analyzing the flight data, the company will decide whether to attempt to catch the spacecraft with the mechanical arms of t…
Washington Times
BizTocSpaceX's Starship soars into orbit after booster explosion prevents an unprecedented double catch
SpaceX's attempt to recover its entire Starship back at the launch pad was thwarted when the booster fell into the Gulf of Mexico and exploded Friday, but the spacecraft still soared into orbit in its boldest test yet.
SpaceX lost the Super Heavy propeller during Starship's test flight. The ship continued in orbit and prepared for an unprecedented recovery maneuver in Texas.
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