SpaceX plans Starship test flight with first catch of both rocket stages

Launch plan

SpaceX has scheduled the next test flight of its Starship rocket for 23:45 on Friday, 13 November, German time, which puts liftoff in the night to Saturday, 14 November. The flight departs from Starbase, the company's site in south-eastern Texas on the border with Mexico, and dozens of spectators had already gathered there to see the rocket up close. The timing could still move for several reasons, including at short notice. The aim is a first for the industry, since both stages are to be caught by catch arms at the launch tower.

Booster and upper stage recovery

The Super Heavy booster is to be caught first, shortly after launch and stage separation, by the arms on the launch tower. SpaceX has done this on three earlier tests, most recently on test flights 5, 7 and 8 between October 2024 and March 2025. The current version 3 of the booster has three grid fins instead of four and no longer carries catch hooks, so the enlarged and reinforced grid fins are to take over that role. The upper Starship stage is to fly around the Earth roughly 14 times within about 24 hours before returning to the tower for its own catch, according to dpa. RP Online gives a more precise plan citing SpaceX: an orbit at 275 kilometres altitude and a catch 22 hours and 32 minutes after launch. SpaceX has not yet tried to catch the complete Starship, so the upper stage catch would be the first attempt of its kind.

Background from the September flight

The previous Starship flight took place in September, when the rocket reached an orbit around the Earth for the first time. About three hours later the upper stage came down in a fireball, under control, in the Pacific, while the lower stage had already been brought down into the sea near the launch site. Starlink satellites were released during that mission, which the articles describe as the first time they were deployed this way. The system is about 124 metres tall, made up of the roughly 70-metre Super Heavy booster and the roughly 50-metre upper stage, and is larger than the Statue of Liberty in New York. The first test in April 2023 exploded completely within minutes, and the later tests have had mixed results.

Super Heavy booster70

Starship upper stage50

Super Heavy booster

70 m

Starship upper stage

50 m

Data from the article text

Artemis and refuelling

NASA wants to use Starship to send astronauts to the Moon, while SpaceX also aims to reach Mars one day. The Human Landing System lander for NASA's Artemis programme is to be built on the Starship design, and it must be refuelled in Earth orbit. That would require a series of Starship launches in quick succession to carry propellant, and reusing the booster is needed to make that practical. How many fuel flights would be required remains unclear. In October, former astronaut Charlie Precourt, a member of NASA's safety panel, said 22 tanker Starship launches would be needed for a Moon mission. Elon Musk replied on X that six to eight launches would be enough, and Jeremy Parsons, manager of the Artemis programme, said at a conference that he did not believe it would take 22 launches. NASA's position leans toward Musk's figure, but much depends on refuelling tests in orbit that are still to come.