Starship is set to undergo a historic test flight on Friday, aiming to achieve the first successful double recovery of its two components—the Super Heavy booster and the Ship upper stage—during descent from space.
The launch will take place at 1645 local time (2245 GMT) from Starbase in Texas, within a seven-five-minute window. After six minutes into flight, the lower section—the Super Heavy booster—will return to the launch tower for what has been attempted three times previously using mechanical arms nicknamed 'chopsticks'.
First Full Recovery Attempt
This test marks the first attempt by SpaceX to catch both parts of the Starship rocket mid-flight after orbital flight. The top portion, known as the Ship, is expected to complete 14 orbits before attempting its second recovery around 22 hours and 30 minutes after liftoff.
The upper stage will deploy 26 satellites that are part of the Starlink constellation, providing high-speed internet from space. However, until now, it has never been caught during descent—instead being splashed down in the ocean following orbit completion.
SpaceX's Reusability Goal
If successful, this double catch would represent a major milestone toward full reusability of the entire Starship system. A reusable rocket could drastically reduce launch costs compared to current models like Falcon -9, which already fly over one hundred times annually with partial reuse.
Malcolm Macdonald, President of Royal Aeronautical Society: "A successful double catch would be visually spectacular, but full reusability has the potential to fundamentally change the economics of accessing space. One successful flight will not prove that model—but it could mark an important transition: from demonstrating that Starship can fly, to demonstrating how Starship could operate."
The test is critical for NASA’s Artemis III mission—planned for summer 2027—which aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2028. SpaceX has been contracted to develop a lunar lander based on the Ship design.
NASA and Competitors in Lunar Race
SpaceX's progress directly impacts NASA’s timeline, which includes landing humans on the lunar surface ahead of China’s planned 2030 moon landing. The Artemis III mission will see four astronauts aboard Orion attempt docking with both the SpaceX and Blue Origin landers.
Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, also holds a contract for its New Glenn rocket and lander to support Moon missions. However, it faced significant setbacks earlier this year when its launch vehicle exploded at Florida’s launchpad—delaying return-to-flight until early 2027.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has stated that the United States is in 'a race' with China to reach the Moon. While no official confirmation of Chinese lunar ambitions beyond 2030 exists publicly, such statements reflect strategic competition within space policy.
The success or failure of this flight will not only determine SpaceX's path forward but may influence broader timelines across commercial and government-led space initiatives. As of now, there are no confirmed details about any technical issues detected during preflight assessments; all decisions regarding recovery attempts remain subject to real-time evaluation by engineers on-site.