SpaceX’s Starship soars into orbit after booster explosion prevents an unprecedented double catch
- 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.
126 Articles
126 Articles
SpaceX completes 15th Starship flight test, spacecraft caught by launch tower for first time
SpaceX's Starship spacecraft returned to its launch site on Saturday and was successfully caught by the launch tower's giant mechanical arms for the first time, marking a major milestone in the company's efforts to develop a fully reusable rocket system.
The giant mechanical arms of the launch tower captured the spacecraft after 22 hours of flight and 14 orbits around the Earth – The failed return of the Super Heavy booster rocket and the significance of the achievement for missions to the Moon and Mars
After about 14 laps of the Earth, the Starship floor, which is more than 50 meters high, managed to reach as expected the Texas space base from where the launch took place. An advance towards a reusable mega-fuséeThe American SpaceX company of Elon Musk managed on Saturday to catch the imposing upper floor of its mega-fusée Starship after more than 22 hours of flight.It is a historic first.After about 14 laps of the Earth, this gear of more than…
SpaceX has achieved a historic feat: after a 22-hour flight, robotic arms caught the Starship. The successful return was preceded by a rocket explosion.
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