SpaceX fired all six Raptor engines on Starship Ship 42, the upper stage assigned to Flight 15, at 4:45 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, October 27, at the Massey’s test site inside Starbase, Texas. NASASpaceflight shared footage of the test, and Starlust reports the engines ran for more than 60 seconds.
Both stages are now through testing
- Ship 42 ran a single-engine static fire a day earlier, then the full six-engine test. Starlust says this step-by-step approach matches how SpaceX readied the previous Starship V3 flights.
- Its booster, Booster 22, completed a full-duration 33-engine static fire on October 25. SpaceX called it a “full duration 33-engine static fire for the Super Heavy booster preparing for Flight 15.”
- Teams also practiced launch-day steps such as loading super-cooled liquid methane and liquid oxygen, and Ship 42’s flaps were seen moving about 15 minutes before ignition.
What’s next
According to Starlust, Ship 42 will roll back to Megabay 2 for final outfitting and to load its payload of Starlink V3 satellites. The flight still needs final FAA approval. SpaceX hasn’t announced a date, but reports point to a November launch from Pad 2 at Starbase.
Flight 15 is set to be the first attempt to catch both Starship stages with the tower’s “chopstick” arms. “If we succeed, it will be the first time that an orbital launch vehicle has been fully recovered,” Elon Musk said on SpaceX’s October 20 earnings call, as quoted by Aerospace Global News. Starlust also says the booster for Flight 16 was spotted at Starbase late Tuesday.
Sources: Starlust, India Today and Aerospace Global News.