Starship Flight 15 reaches low-Earth orbit; booster catch possible Saturday
SpaceX’s 15th Starship test flight lifted off from Starbase, Texas, on Friday and reached a nominal low-Earth orbit after a flawless first-stage ascent. The booster released the upper stage above the Gulf of Mexico, and the upper stage then ignited its Raptor engines; Ars Technica reports this was the second time Starship has flown to low-Earth orbit. A booster catch attempt is described as possible on Saturday, not as having already happened.
Why an orbital flight matters
Starship is SpaceX’s two-stage, fully reusable launch system: a Super Heavy first stage and a Starship upper stage, both designed to return and fly again rather than be expended. Reaching low-Earth orbit is the prerequisite for the missions SpaceX has sold the vehicle for, including deploying satellites and refueling a tanker in orbit for lunar missions. Flight 15 was the 15th test flight in a little over three years, an iterative campaign in which each launch is meant to retire specific risks before the next attempt.
