No orbital rocket has ever been recovered in full to fly again, and SpaceX is betting it can pull off that feat starting today.
Starship's 15th test flight opens a 75-minute window at 4:45 p.m. Central time from Starbase, Texas, pending regulatory approval, and it carries a far more ambitious goal than any launch before it: bring both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage back to the launch site to be caught and reused.
If it works, it will be the first time an orbital launch system has been recovered in its entirety, a milestone that could reshape how rockets are built and flown.
The upper stage is set to circle the Earth at roughly 275 kilometers, logging about 14 orbits over a flight lasting more than 22 hours while carrying 26 Starlink V3 satellites into orbit.
But the real spectacle comes in the landings, with the booster returning first and the far more dramatic catch of the Starship upper stage following on Saturday afternoon, local time.