Musk says Starship Flight 15 will attempt to catch both stages next month

Elon Musk says SpaceX will attempt to catch both stages of Starship — the Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage ship — on Flight 15, expected next month.

“For Flight 15, which we expect to happen next month, we’re going to attempt to catch both the booster and the ship,” Musk told the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday 20 October. He said that if it works, it “will be the first time that an orbital launch vehicle has been fully recovered”, calling it a “profound technology milestone”.

Musk tempered expectations: “Success is not guaranteed on these first flights, but I’d say it’s more likely than not that this succeeds next flight.” SpaceX played a simulation of the flight on the call, ending with the ship descending back to the tower and being caught by its arms.

SpaceX has caught Super Heavy boosters with the tower before, on Flights 5, 7 and 8, but it has never caught the ship. Previous upper stages have splashed down in the ocean or been lost.

President Gwynne Shotwell said the company has had “significant constructive engagement” with the Federal Aviation Administration and expects the Flight 15 licence to cover “return to launch site and tower catch for both stages”. The agency has not yet issued that licence, and SpaceX has not announced a firm launch date.

Sources: Tesla North; TweakTown; Tech Insider.