"SpaceX prepares for its next ambitious attempt to catch a rocket using giant metal pincers."
Just weeks after SpaceX amazed audiences with a precise landing of a giant rocket booster, the company is gearing up for another test flight of the most powerful launch vehicle ever created. SpaceX is preparing to attempt the maneuver of guiding the booster back into the mechanical arms — or “chopsticks” — of its launch tower.
The nearly 400-foot-tall (121-meter) Starship system is set to launch as soon as November 19 from SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas.
The two-stage megarocket, consisting of the Starship spacecraft atop the Super Heavy booster, will aim for liftoff within a 30-minute window starting at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
SpaceX will livestream the event on the company’s X account, though the timing may change, according to their website.
This uncrewed trial marks the quickest turnaround yet in SpaceX’s Starship test campaign, which is crucial for NASA’s Artemis program. The space agency, aiming to return astronauts to the moon by 2026, plans to use the Starship spacecraft’s upper stage as a lunar lander to ferry astronauts to the moon’s surface.Just weeks after SpaceX amazed audiences with a precise landing of a giant rocket booster, the company is gearing up for another test flight of the most powerful launch vehicle ever created. SpaceX is preparing to attempt the maneuver of guiding the booster back into the mechanical arms — or “chopsticks” — of its launch tower.
The nearly 400-foot-tall (121-meter) Starship system is set to launch as soon as November 19 from SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas.
The two-stage megarocket, consisting of the Starship spacecraft atop the Super Heavy booster, will aim for liftoff within a 30-minute window starting at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
SpaceX will livestream the event on the company’s X account, though the timing may change, according to their website.
This uncrewed trial marks the quickest turnaround yet in SpaceX’s Starship test campaign, which is crucial for NASA’s Artemis program. The space agency, aiming to return astronauts to the moon by 2026, plans to use the Starship spacecraft’s upper stage as a lunar lander to ferry astronauts to the moon’s surface.
The purpose of these test flights is to refine how SpaceX could eventually recover and quickly reuse Super Heavy boosters and Starship spacecraft for future missions. Rapidly reusing rocket components is seen as crucial to significantly lowering both the time and cost of sending cargo or astronauts to space.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which oversees commercial rocket launches, stated that it did not need to undergo the lengthy process of reviewing a launch license modification because the flight path of this week’s test flight is expected to closely resemble that of a previous test flight.
“The FAA has determined that SpaceX has met all safety, environmental, and other licensing requirements for the suborbital test flight,” the agency said in a statement. “The FAA also concluded that the changes requested by SpaceX for Tuesday’s test flight fall within the scope of what has already been analyzed.”
On October 13, SpaceX’s fifth integrated test flight of Starship captured global attention with its ambitious attempt to maneuver the 232-foot-tall (71-meter) Super Heavy booster back to a massive landing structure after separating from the Starship spacecraft.
Using a pair of giant metal pincers, known as “chopsticks,” SpaceX successfully caught the Super Heavy midair, marking a significant milestone in the company's efforts to make the rocket fully reusable.
“Starship’s fifth flight test was a pivotal moment in the journey toward creating a fully and rapidly reusable launch system,” SpaceX said in a statement.
Starship is central to SpaceX’s long-term goal of eventually sending humans to Mars.
Additionally, SpaceX has secured government contracts worth nearly $4 billion for NASA’s Artemis program, focused on developing a cost-effective space transportation system.
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