Starship Flight 15: Live updates from Starbase, Texas, as SpaceX attempts its most ambitious mission yet
SpaceX is attempting to make history with the fifteenth test flight of its 407-foot Starship. If all things go as planned, the mission could end with the first full recovery of an orbital-class rocket.
Started 2 hours ago·12 updates
What we know so far
SpaceX will attempt to launch Starship on its fifteenth test flight within a 75-minute window starting at 4:45 p.m. CST today.
This will mark the company's first attempt to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage.
The mission will also mark the first Starship booster tower catch since March 2025.
If all goes as planned, it will be the first full recovery of an orbital-class rocket and a huge step for SpaceX towards achieving full and rapid reusability for the mega rocket.
Ship 42 gets 'go' to proceed past early return checkpoint, all satellites deployed
SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot said that Ship 42 has been greenlit to go past the early return checkpoint off the coast of Hawaii. SpaceX intentionally built several checkpoints into the flight to ensure that Ship 42 can be deorbited safely in case any anomalies are noticed. The next checkpoint will arrive just over 7 hours into the flight.
The first two Starlink V3 satellites are out. Ship 42 will now pause deployment and execute a 360-degree rotation to enable the second satellite and two others to image its heatshield tiles with their onboard cameras.
Ship 42 pictured after deployment of first two Starlink V3 satellites. SpaceX
Ship 42 has entered orbit around Earth after a successful insertion burn, becoming the second Starship upper stage to do so after its predecessor, Ship 41. As of now, SpaceX is still on track to catch Ship 42 at its launch site. No concrete updates yet on why the booster wasn't caught.
SpaceX has greenlit Ship 42 for an orbital insertion burn. About 2 minutes from now, Ship 42 will fire one of its Raptor engines to leave its suborbital trajectory.
Booster 22 has landed in the ocean, Ship 42 cruising
Booster 22 exploded moments before splashing down in the ocean. Ship 42 continues on its suborbital trajectory, with all six Raptor engines now cut off.
Booster 22 will not be caught using the chopstick arms on the launch pad. It will splash down at an offshore location near Starbase instead. SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot could not say for sure as to why the catch maneuver was not attempted.
Starship is off the ground for its fifteenth integrated test flight. The 407-foot rocket took off right at 4:47 p.m. CST. The two stages have also separated successfully. All six engines on Ship 42 are also operating nominally. Next up: Super Heavy landing burn.
Starship takes off on its 15th test flight. (SpaceX)
One of the heatshield tiles on Ship 42 has been signed by Mr. Beast, who has over 500 million subscribers on YouTube. So, he will, in a way, be flying with Starship today.
On a more serious note, Ship 42 will be responsible for deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites if it reaches orbit. Once operational, each satellite will add 1 terabit of capacity to the existing Starlink constellation. That's about the same as 10 Starlink V2 launches onboard the much smaller Falcon 9 rocket.
Teams have begun loading the two stages of Starship with liquid oxygen and liquid methane. The weather looks good for liftoff today as well as for Ship catch tomorrow.
SpaceX Flight Director has given Starship the 'go' for propellant load. Teams will soon begin loading the booster and the upper stage with about 12 million pounds of liquid oxygen and liquid methane. Once underway, the propellant load will be completed in just over 30 minutes.
SpaceX is attempting history today with the fifteenth test flight of the 407-foot-tall Starship. If everything goes according to plan, the mission will end with the company catching both the Super Heavy booster (Booster 22) and the Starship upper stage (Ship 42) using the huge chopstick arms on the launch tower at Starbase, Texas.
No orbital-class rocket has been fully recovered post-launch before. It will also mark the first Starship booster tower catch since March 2025.
Just about an hour until launch window opens for Flight 15
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certainly took its time, but SpaceX has received the license to go ahead with Starship Flight 15. And while a nationwide ground stop has been issued by the agency due to air traffic control communication issues, SpaceX has said they are on track for launch, with the 75-minute window opening in just under an hour at 4:45 p.m. CST.
Saubhagya Mukherjee
