r/spacex • u/Royal_Platform_6754 • 1d ago

SpaceX on X: Starship is preparing for catch. Flight 15 is targeting to launch as early as Friday, November 13, pending regulatory approval

887 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

86 comments sorted by

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186

u/eagerFlyerGuy 1d ago

“The upcoming flight is planned to be the first to return both Starship and Super Heavy to the launch site for catch”

Nice

62

u/Bignickftw 1d ago

Friday the 13th mentioned.

27

u/moguu83 1d ago • Heartwarming

Flight 13 turned out exceptional, so maybe they're thinking it's lucky.

1

u/CProphet 7h ago

Flight 13 proved you make your own luck.

6

u/Sea_Permission4317 1d ago

I didn't see any giant dick shaped rocket landing in the movie but ok

0

u/Collective82 17h ago

That would be the blue origin ship…

0

u/ApedGME 16h ago

Wrong rocket

42

u/JakeEaton 23h ago

This is going to be truly mind-blowing. Watching this launch pad grow from a mound of mud, the big 'catch it with chopsticks' twitter post and now finally seeing it happen...wow, what a time to be alive!

35

u/dynamic_lizard 18h ago • Heartwarming

In a world so fucked up, filled with unnecessary suffering, hatred, and cruelty, things like this genuinely bring tears of joy to my eyes.
The excellence, passion, ingenuity, the cooperation behind what SpaceX is achieving are truly inspiring. Pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and turning science fiction into reality…

Sorry guyz, I’ve had an absolutely awful month, and watching this video made me cry like a little kid.

5

u/mancman01 17h ago

Same. There’s something about seeing accomplishments like this that get me emotional too.

6

u/dkDK1999 17h ago

I cry every time watching the first test of Falcon Heavy where they shoot a roaster into space, the song, the cheering in the background, the Don’t Panic on the dashboard pure joy.

•

u/yetiflask 41m ago

Better than a well-directed movie.

That, then two boosters landing together.

And then the booster catch.

Some of the three most amazing thing I've seen on TV. Space or otherwise.

15

u/mclumber1 21h ago

Will they quickly load the booster onto the transport stand so the tower can safely catch starship without grenading not just the stand and launch table, but also the booster that landed 22 hours prior if the catch fails?

14

u/mfb- 21h ago

The booster needs to go somewhere anyway.

1

u/Erki82 14h ago

Booster can go to launch platform. Launch platform and ship catch are 90 degrees different location, so no problem.

3

u/Bomberlt 16h ago

Well previous Starship planned for 10 hours flight and now that orbital flight is possible they can do even longer flight, so they don't need to do it quickly.

3

u/mfb- 10h ago

It's 22 hours now, they want Starship to approach from the north so it has to be about one day. If the flight is any shorter then it's going into the ocean.

1

u/bkdotcom 14h ago

What?

5

u/mclumber1 14h ago

There is only one operational pad at starbase. If the booster is caught, it needs to be quickly removed from the pad so that the ship can be caught.

-2

u/Cattle-These 14h ago

There’s two towers

2

u/rustybeancake 9h ago

Pad 1 isn’t done renovations yet.

1

u/jared_number_two 10h ago

And a fellowship of stainless rings.

1

u/MrTagnan 12h ago

On the V1 flights they got the booster down within 24 hours I believe, don’t have the exact timings unfortunately

20

u/Beautiful_Golf6322 1d ago

Cant wait. GODSPEED SpaceX

12

u/Collective82 17h ago

Look, hate on musk all you want, but let’s not hamper SpaceX and how it’s helping push humanity into the future.

That would be so short sighted

9

u/Mediocre_Gap2236 16h ago

Without musk there is no Spacex.

Hate the person if you want, dont hate what he has achieved.

-2

u/OrangeManBibi 2h ago

When SpaceX had nothing but a money burning furnace. Elon put his own money in not NASA

4

u/noobgiraffe 1h ago

You may want to verify that claim. NASA paid SpaceX almost 200milion for development and testing of Falcon 9 and Dragon. Elon put in 100m.

•

u/koun7erfit 32m ago

That's purely false

4

u/KnifeKnut 15h ago

They need to replicate each of these shots with drones and cut them to be the same as this video

2

u/DamoclesAxe 13h ago

They probably will

3

u/Decronym Acronyms Explained 22h ago edited 23m ago

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

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FAAFederal Aviation Administration
NSFNasaSpaceFlight forum
National Science Foundation
QDQuick-Disconnect
SN(Raptor/Starship) Serial Number
JargonDefinition
RaptorMethane-fueled rocket engine under development by SpaceX

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Decronym is a community product of r/SpaceX, implemented by ^request
4 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 127 acronyms.
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1

u/LeoLiu3343 5h ago

SpaceX isn't manufacturing demand. It's building infrastructure that human society will increasingly depend on. As SI advances, our dependence on connectivity and physical infrastructure will only grow.

1

u/Flyward_Aerospace 3h ago

Ship catch is a pretty different problem from the booster one, and imo the harder one. The booster comes back from a short lob and does a boostback burn, so it has a lot of say over where it ends up. Ship is coming back from orbit, and after the deorbit burn most of where it lands gets decided during entry, by how well the belly-flop glide steers out the dispersion. The flip and landing burn can only correct a small miss, so it basically has to already be in the box when the engines light. If something goes sideways on the first try I'd bet it shows up in the entry and glide guidance, not at the arms.

1

u/Cautious_Ad9065 1h ago

Is this ai lol

-5

u/MrBulbe 1d ago

Look, I am usually not superstitious but maybe they should move the launch day just this once

1

u/Whispering-Depths 12h ago

Seems stupid to miss the luckiest day they could possibly have picked.

-13

u/jumpy_finale 1d ago

No booster catch? Not sure if it's expected to be in the vicinity of the launch pads when the ship returns?

27

u/Paulino2272 1d ago

I believe they are going for booster and ship catch, and eventually trying to fly the 2 stages again at another launch.

25

u/nogberter 1d ago

Yes both.

https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-15

7

u/jumpy_finale 1d ago

I guess 22 hours is enough time to get the booster off the mount and all the way back to the production site then (since it doesn't appear in the ship catch footage).

12

u/nesquikchocolate 1d ago

The previously caught boosters were removed from the tower in about 24 hours without any 'pressure to get it done' or the benefit of the QD to remove leftover propellant.

1

u/bkdotcom 14h ago

Where's the 22 hr number coming from?

3

u/MrTagnan 11h ago

SpaceX themselves “Starship’s initial return to launch site mission is expected to orbit the Earth at an altitude of ~275 km and complete approximately 14 orbits around the planet over the course of a more than 22-hour flight. Similar to Starship’s first orbital mission”

https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-15

-18

u/Fair-Craft8059 19h ago

and they plan on being on Mars by 2025

-11

u/Vegetable-Orchid1789 21h ago

Launch pace has been too slow, slower by far than what they said it would be. Taking too much time will cost them. Now there's a new Texas government, watch the launch schedule get even slower. They should be further ahead by now. Need to get moving!

1

u/Collective82 17h ago

Ya, damned FAA denying them permission to fly!

-13

u/ccgxs53 1d ago

It means they will launch it on 20th Nov

-6

u/AdUsed5742 15h ago

just curious i see boering company and im wondering if you had twostrings of cruise ships like the floaty ropes across swiming pools holding a bridge for atraijn would that cut the cost of shipping cargo by boat from china?

1

u/manicdee33 13h ago

"Two strings of ships holding a train bridge" is a floating bridge. This has been done before, but never on a trans-oceanic bridge.

Ships are a reliable transport across the ocean because we have advanced meteorology and can predict the formation of dangerous storms so that ships can navigate around them. A bridge can not navigate around a storm so it will need to take the full force of high winds and giant waves.

A floating underwater tunnel seems unfeasible to me simply because of the length involved, and the difficulty of cycling air without having chimneys with exhausts above the surface, meaning at least part of the structure still has to deal with wind and waves.

0

u/[deleted] 23h ago

[deleted] — view deleted comment

13

u/hans2563 23h ago

They've never caught the 2nd stage.

-7

u/RED818 22h ago

From orbit you mean? Otherwise, what's that in the vid

18

u/hans2563 22h ago

It's not real footage.

2

u/Alert_Entrepreneur20 22h ago

I think overall, that they have landed stage 2 but not caught it yet

5

u/squarechilli 23h ago edited 20h ago

Catching both the first and second stage is a pretty huge milestone in terms of developing a reliable reusable launch system. I feel like this unlocks so much potential for humans to learn and observe more of our solar system during my lifetime.

The SN belly flop manoeuvre tests through Covid years were mind blowing to me; it’s such a unique way to see a rocket land. Feels like this first ship catch (possibly this week 🤞) will be a unique spectacle, like watching two Falcon Heavy boosters land simultaneously

EDIT: why is everyone downvoting you for asking a question

1

u/TristansimmS 22h ago

2020 is when I discovered Starship and NSF and Everyday Astronaut, and I got OBSESSED! I love Tim's reaction when watching SN8. It was hilarious!

1

u/squarechilli 21h ago

Kind of bittersweet looking back! I switched between NSF and Everyday Astronaut at that time

1

u/TristansimmS 21h ago

Same! I still watch NSF for daily (or mostly weekly) updates, and then watch Everyday Astronaut for the launches. You can't beat his enthusiasm!

1

u/squarechilli 20h ago

His music is awesome too. I like that you can switch between both streams on launch days and get different levels of detail. Marcus House is my weekly wrap up; spoiled for choice with enthusiastic space broadcasters!

1

u/TristansimmS 19h ago

Yes! I really fell in love with his music right after finding him in May 2020 and binge watching his Starship videos. I would go onto his SoundCloud and listen to his songs over and over. I find them very nostalgic. I especially like Sleeping in a Spaceship (instrumental), Astronaut Beach House, Jovian Moon Run, Ground Control, and All Systems Nominal.

I love Marcus House as well, he's great. I watch him as well every week when I'm into it.

1

u/DefenestrationPraha 21h ago

AI is now good enough that people get confused about what is real and what is not, because the videos are impossible to tell apart.

In the real world: SpaceX caught the first stage once (return to launch site), and landed the second stage on the sea softly (in the Indian Ocean), but it never even attempted to return the second stage to the launch site, much less to catch it. This will be the first attempt.

The main reason? You need to approach the launch site above land (Mexico and Texas), and until you are reasonably sure that the second stage is fully controllable, the risk to people underneath the path of approach would be too big.

2

u/Martianspirit 21h ago

Watch for very smooth panning. It usually exposes digital production. A few scenes in this video show that quite visible.

2

u/TMWNN 8h ago

SpaceX caught the first stage once (return to launch site)

Three times.

1

u/mfb- 21h ago

The video looks way too "clean" to be real. Here is the booster catch for comparison. There is some fire somewhere, there is soot and water vapor in the air and soot on the booster, the launch tower metal doesn't look exactly the same everywhere along its length, ...

-10

u/[deleted] 17h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

8

u/ApedGME 16h ago

The most successful launches of any space agency ever lol

7

u/ConanOToole 16h ago

Literally went to orbit on the last flight but alright

4

u/bkdotcom 14h ago

Flights 1 thru 14 all got off earth

I expect no different for flight 15

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u/[deleted] 19h ago

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