SpaceX completes 15th Starship flight test, spacecraft caught by launch tower for 1st time

Texas: SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft returned to its launch site and was caught by the launch tower’s mechanical arms, completing Starship’s 15th flight test. It marked the first time a Starship spacecraft had been caught by the launch tower’s mechanical arms upon returning to the launch site.

The giant rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in the US state of Texas on Friday afternoon. After about 22 and a half hours, the spacecraft returned to the launch site at about 3:20 p.m. Central Time on Saturday.

The mission was designed to attempt the first-ever catch of both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft by the launch tower’s mechanical arms during a single flight. However, after stage separation, the booster was diverted from its planned return to the launch site and made an offshore splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Starship spacecraft performed its orbital insertion burn and entered Earth’s orbit. It later deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites.

Following payload deployment, Starship entered a prolonged coast phase in orbit. After more than 20 hours in space, the SpaceX flight control team began preparations for the spacecraft’s return to the launch site.

Starship successfully reignited one of its Raptor sea-level engines and performed a deorbit burn, leaving orbit and beginning its descent toward Earth. The spacecraft then made its way back toward the Texas coast, executing a final swoop manoeuvre over the Gulf of Mexico before approaching the launch site from which it had lifted off.

After emerging from the clouds, Starship ignited three Raptor engines to perform its landing flip manoeuvre and slow its descent toward the launch tower. The tower’s mechanical arms then successfully caught the spacecraft, marking the first such catch of a Starship vehicle.

In its previous flight test on September 28, Starship reached orbit for the first time and deployed 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites. SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket, collectively referred to as Starship, represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.