✅ Trusted source
Elon Musk
Noticia
Musk says Starship Flight 15 will try to catch the ship for the first time
Elon Musk said at the X Takeover event at Giga Texas that Starship Flight 15 will try to catch the ship for the first time. According to Musk, the flight is four to six weeks away and will "probably" launch shortly before Thanksgiving, a slip from earlier reports that pointed to October 19. SpaceX has already caught the Super Heavy booster with the tower's mechanical arms, but the upper stage has never been recovered. Musk also said the next milestone would be reflying both the booster and the ship on Flight 16.…
- Musk estimates Flight 15 four to six weeks away, before Thanksgiving.
- It would be the first full recovery of an orbital-class rocket.
🔎 Why it matters: If Starship Flight 15 succeeds in catching the ship, it would be the first full recovery of an orbital-class rocket and would pave the way for Flight 16, with reused booster and ship.
📈 Upside: A ship that returns intact to Starbase can be inspected and flown again, according to the article.
📉 Risk: The date has already slipped from October 19, and bringing the ship back over land to the launch site, still unexplored, will require aviation safety reviews.
🤖 Editorial summary of the cited source, with AI-assisted analysis -- not HgYperDrive original reporting. The original source is linked above for verification. More on how this works: editorial policy →