SpaceX flew its massive Starship rocket into orbit Friday and deployed 26 Starlink satellites, proving again that private enterprise delivers results government programs can only promise — though the booster landing was scrapped and an unprecedented upper-stage catch attempt was pushed to Saturday.
The stakes are straightforward: full reusability of the world's largest rocket would slash the cost of reaching space to a fraction of what NASA has burned through for decades. Friday's flight moved that goal closer, even if it didn't close the deal on both stages.
Flight 15 lifted off cleanly from Starbase, Texas at 5:47 p.m. ET with all 33 Raptor engines firing on the Super Heavy booster, according to HotAir. Stage separation went smoothly. But one booster engine flamed out prematurely, and flight controllers diverted the booster to a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico rather than attempt the tower catch. The booster exploded on impact. SpaceX's Dan Huot said the reason for the diversion wasn't immediately clear: "Not sure right now why we weren't able to bring it back," according to DW.com.
The upper stage pressed on. After an 18-minute coast and a short engine burn, Starship entered orbit — only the second time it has done so. About 40 minutes in, all 26 Starlink V3 satellites deployed successfully, with contact confirmed for each. Ars Technica, which called the launch "largely successful," noted the significance: Starship is now "an operational, orbital rocket" — the most powerful machine humans have ever launched.
Saturday's planned catch of the upper stage would be a first. SpaceX has caught boosters before but never the ship itself. The vehicle must pass a series of in-orbit health checks — engine health, power, communications, structural integrity, tank pressure, attitude control — before controllers commit to a return through populated areas over Mexico and the United States. If the checks fail, the ship de-orbits into the Pacific.
CNN, which framed the mission through the lens of Flight 14's engine-out drama and Musk's push to continue that earlier flight, noted the FAA confirmed SpaceX's decisions were "within approved flight criteria." CBS News called the booster miss a "disappointment" for workers hoping to demonstrate full reusability. DW.com emphasized the billions in NASA funding the project has received — worth noting, since SpaceX has invested at least $15 billion of its own money alongside it, and the company's track record of delivery dwarfs anything the agency has produced on its own timeline.
The heat shield remains the biggest open question for Saturday. Ars Technica reported that SpaceX has been experimenting with tiles since the beginning of the program and needs data from reentry to confirm the vehicle can survive — and be reflown rapidly. Two satellites ejected from the ship carried rear-facing cameras to photograph the heat shield before departure, per HotAir.
Musk has said he expects weekly Starship launches by early 2027. Whether regulators let that happen is another matter entirely.
Saturday's catch attempt is scheduled for approximately 3:15 p.m. local time in Texas. The question isn't whether private enterprise can get there — it already has. The question is whether the regulatory state will let it keep flying.
