This Saturday, November 14, SpaceX faces one of the most important maneuvers in its Starship program: trying to capture the spacecraft for the first time with the mechanical arms of its launch tower in Starbase, Texas. Elon Musk’s company maintains the plan after the fifteenth test flight, which began on Friday, suffered a setback with the Super Heavy booster, which had to be diverted into waters of the Gulf of Mexico when it was being prepared to return to the platform.
The launch took place at 23:47 on Friday, in Spanish peninsula time, from SpaceX facilities in the south of Texas. Although the company failed to recover the rocket’s first stage, the Starship spacecraft continued its trajectory, completed orbital insertion, and deployed 26 third-generation Starlink satellites. Now, the main pending objective is to demonstrate that the upper stage can return to Earth after spending almost a day in orbit and be recovered without needing to perform a water landing.
The maneuver is scheduled for around 22:20 this Saturday in Spain, according to the indicative schedule published by SpaceX. However, the attempt will depend on the spacecraft’s status and the safety checks that controllers carry out before authorizing its return.
SpaceX cancels the Super Heavy capture and diverts it to the Gulf of Mexico
The first setback of the mission occurred a few minutes after liftoff. The Super Heavy booster, responsible for propelling the spacecraft during the initial phase of the launch, separated correctly from Starship and began the maneuvers planned to return to the tower. The plan was to use its engines to slow the descent and allow two large mechanical arms, known as chopsticks, to hold it before it touched the ground.
However, during the return, a safety maneuver was triggered that prevented the capture from being completed. SpaceX diverted the booster to the Gulf of Mexico, where it ended up exploding over the water after executing part of the descent sequence. The company had not initially clarified what caused the cancellation of the maneuver.
The incident thwarted one of the main objectives of this flight: to recover both the booster and the spacecraft in the same mission. If both captures had been completed, SpaceX would have managed to demonstrate an integrated recovery system for an orbital vehicle with these characteristics.
However, the failure of the maneuver with Super Heavy does not mean that SpaceX has never managed to capture a booster. The company had already recovered three units of the previous generation using the tower’s arms. The novelty of this launch was to attempt to do it with an improved version of Super Heavy and, for the first time, to repeat the operation with the Starship spacecraft after its return from Earth orbit.
Starship completes its orbital mission and prepares to return to Earth
While the booster finished its run in the sea, the upper stage Starship continued operating normally and reached Earth orbit about 27 minutes after launch. The spacecraft, which does not carry crew, later began deploying the 26 Starlink V3 satellites planned for the mission.
These devices are part of SpaceX’s new generation of its satellite-based internet constellation. According to the company, each unit is designed to significantly increase data transmission capacity compared to earlier versions. Three of the satellites also incorporate, cameras intended to observe Starship’s heat shield while it remains in orbit, information that will allow engineers to assess the condition of the spacecraft before its return.
The plan calls for Starship to remain more than 22 hours in space and complete approximately 14 orbits around Earth, at an altitude close to 275 kilometers. During that period, the control teams will monitor the navigation, propulsion and thermal protection systems, which are fundamental for the vehicle to withstand its entry into the atmosphere.
The company has established several checks before authorizing the final approach to Starbase. If engineers detect any problem that could compromise safety, they will be able to cancel the capture and order a controlled descent toward a pre-planned ocean zone.
What time will Starship attempt its first capture on the tower
The decisive moment of the mission is scheduled for around 22:20 this Saturday, November 14, in Spanish peninsular time. The estimate corresponds to an approximate flight duration of 22 hours and 32 minutes from the Friday launch, although SpaceX warns that the times may change.
Before approaching the tower, Starship will have to perform an orbital departure maneuver, pass through the atmosphere, and progressively reduce its speed. During the descent, the heat shield will have to withstand extreme temperatures, while the control systems must maintain the stability of the spacecraft.
In the final phase, Starship will ignite its engines to slow the fall and execute an orientation maneuver that will allow it to position itself vertically. If everything works as planned, the tower’s mechanical arms will hold the spacecraft structure before it reaches the ground.
The operation presents additional difficulties with respect to the recovery of the boosters, since the upper stage must return after completing an orbital flight and overcoming the phase with the greatest atmospheric heating. Therefore, success in the launch and satellite deployment does not guarantee that the capture can be completed.
Why is it so important to recover Starship after an orbital flight
Recovering the spacecraft is one of the advances that SpaceX needs in order to develop a fully reusable space transportation system. Unlike conventional rockets, in which part of the structure is lost after launch, the Starship project aims for both the booster and the upper stage to be able to return, be inspected, and be used in new missions.
This capability would make it possible to reduce launch costs and increase the frequency of space operations. It is also relevant to the expansion plans for the Starlink network and to future lunar and Martian exploration projects.
The NASA has selected a version of Starship as a lunar landing vehicle within the Artemis program, so its progress in navigation, thermal protection, and reusability is especially important for the development of future crewed missions. However, a successful capture would not mean that the system is already ready to transport astronauts, since there are still fundamental tests to complete.
For now, the fifteenth flight leaves an uneven balance: SpaceX has managed to launch Starship, reach orbit, and deploy its payload, but has lost the opportunity to recover the Super Heavy booster. The next challenge will come this Saturday, when the company will attempt to complete for the first time the return of the spacecraft to the tower from which it launched.
If it manages to capture it, SpaceX will have taken an important step toward its goal of reusing the two stages of Starship. If the maneuver is canceled, the flight will continue to provide information about the capabilities and limitations of a system that is still in the experimental phase.