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SpaceX aims to catch Starship Flight 15 booster and ship at Starbase
Spaceflight Now reported SpaceX scheduled Starship Flight 15 from Starbase, Texas, in a window opening at 4:45 p.m. CST Friday, aiming to catch Super Heavy Booster 22 and later return Ship 42 to the pad.
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SpaceX scheduled Starship Flight 15 from Starbase, Texas, in a 75-minute window opening at 4:45 p.m. CST (5:45 p.m. EST) on Friday, Nov. 13, according to Spaceflight Now1.
The flight plan calls for Super Heavy Booster 22 to return to pad 2 about 6.5 minutes after liftoff and be caught by the launch tower's robotic arms, Spaceflight Now reported1. The outlet said that would be the first return to the pad of a Version 3 Super Heavy booster, after three earlier boosters were caught by a launch-pad tower1.
Ship 42 is to deploy 26 Starlink Version 3 satellites from a dispenser in the ship's belly if it reaches orbit, the same report said1. If mission control judges the vehicle healthy, the ship is planned to remain in space for up to 14 orbits and return to the launch site about 22.5 hours after liftoff, or around 3:17 p.m. CST on Saturday, Spaceflight Now reported1.
SpaceX has options to end the mission early with splashdowns off Hawaii and Chile if a landing attempt at Starbase is judged unsafe, the outlet said, noting a pad return would take the craft over Mexico and South Texas1.
Spaceflight Now said a successful return of both stages would be the first full recovery of an orbital launch system1. SpaceX said on its website that outcome would be "a breakthrough moment in making Starship a reliable, rapidly reusable rocket," according to the report1.
The outlet said it planned live coverage starting about 90 minutes before launch1. Independent confirmation of the countdown status after the article's 19:15 UTC timestamp was not obtained.
Sources
How it’s being reported
3 sourcesSpaceX to attempt double catch of huge Starship rocket
Gives this outlet’s account of the story.
Elon Musk’s company will try to grab both parts of the rocket for the first time. BBC News
SpaceX Starship megarocket blasts off before expected return for reuse
Gives this outlet’s account of the story.
Live Coverage: Starship Flight 15 attempts to recover full vehicle in double launch pad catch
First attempt at recovering both Super Heavy and Starship at the launch site on one flight
Spaceflight Now said Starship Flight 15 is set for a Friday window from Starbase, with plans to catch Booster 22 and later return Ship 42 to the pad after deploying Starlink satellites.