SpaceX is preparing to launch Flight 15 of its Starship rocket as soon as Friday, pending regulatory approval.
The 75-minute launch window is scheduled to open at 5:45 p.m. EST.
The upcoming mission is planned as the first attempt to return both the Starship upper stage and the Super Heavy booster to the launch site for catch recovery.
If successful, the flight would mark the first full recovery of an orbital launch system.
During the test, Starship is expected to complete about 14 orbits over a flight lasting more than 22 hours.
The mission will utilize a Super Heavy V3 booster, making its initial return and catch attempt.
SpaceX previously recovered three V1 boosters during earlier flight tests, with two of those boosters later demonstrating successful reflights.
The primary objectives for the Super Heavy booster include executing a successful launch, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn and return to the launch site. The Starship upper stage will attempt to deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites into orbit before attempting its first catch at Starbase.
SpaceX stated that Starship will only attempt a launch site return if flight controllers determine that critical vehicle systems, including those required for reentry maneuvers, final landing burn and tower approach, are healthy before initiating recovery.
The payload includes 26 Starlink V3 satellites designed to increase network capacity and user speeds. Each V3 satellite adds one Terabit of capacity to the network, with the total batch equaling roughly 10 Starlink V2 Mini launches on a Falcon 9 rocket.
After deploying from Starship, the Starlink V3 satellites will unfold their antennas, deploy solar arrays and establish initial contact with ground controllers and the constellation via radio frequency and laser links. The satellites will then use onboard thrusters to raise their orbits.
Three of the satellites have been fitted with specialized camera suites to inspect Starship’s heatshield during flight.
The cameras will transmit imagery down to operators, providing data to help determine whether the spacecraft is ready to return to the launch site.
The vehicle’s thermal protection system incorporates several upgrades following Flight 14.
Engineers added additional tile retention mechanisms in areas at high risk of losing tiles during ascent, while sealing pathways that previously allowed plasma to get behind the heatshield.
A large portion of the heatshield also features a curved tile design.
Tests have shown that the curved shape helps reduce thermal heating in the narrow gaps between tiles during reentry.
Channel 9 will continue to monitor the planned paunch and provide updates on Eyewitness News.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.