SpaceX will attempt for the first time to catch the Starship orbital rocket with two clamps from its launch tower.

A video simulation illustrates the descent and capture maneuver of the Starship developed by SpaceX. The sequence shows the vehicle's controlled fall into the atmosphere and its subsequent vertical deceleration as it approaches the coastal facilities of Starbase. The maneuver concludes with the capture of the spacecraft by the mechanical arms located on the launch tower. In a maneuver that seeks to change the history of space launches, SpaceX will attempt to recover a complete orbital rocket for the first time, with Starship 15 and its Super Heavy booster returning to the Starbase tower. This double capture would pave the way for a reusable system with lower costs and a higher flight frequency, a condition necessary to sustain the ambition of transporting cargo and astronauts to the Moon with the Artemis program. The scene that SpaceX intends to execute after today's launch involves two returns to the same tower in South Texas. An Infobae infographic details the capture phases of the Super Heavy booster and the Starship in Texas after its orbital mission. (Illustrative Image Infobae) First, the 72-meter-tall Super Heavy booster must return in 6 minutes after liftoff. More than 22 hours later, the Ship must repeat the procedure after traveling 14 times around the Earth and launching 26 Starlink V3 satellites. If both parts are held by the mechanical arms of the infrastructure, the company will achieve the first complete recovery of an orbital launch system. The launch window opens at 5:45 PM Eastern Time; 10:45 PM GMT and 7:45 PM in Argentina. It will last 75 minutes. If there are no technical, meteorological, or regulatory problems, the rocket will launch from Starbase, SpaceX's base in Boca Chica. SpaceX Flight 15 seeks to recover Starship and Super Heavy at Starbase,akey test for complete orbital reusability today (SpaceX). SpaceX intends to replace the single-use scheme, which is still dominant in much of space activity, with a vehicle capable of taking off, returning, passing inspections, and flying again. The result may define the speed at which the program advances toward commercial missions, satellite deployments, and operations for NASA. The objective goes beyond a conventional landing. SpaceX seeks for the two stages to return to the same structure from which they departed. The tower has articulated arms informally known as "sticks or clamps." These arms must hold each vehicle at specific points on its structure, without landing legs. The design reduces mass and allows the rocket to be placed next to the equipment preparing it for another mission. The maneuver requires precision between systems operating on different scales. The engines must adjust power, sensors must measure position and speed, and navigation must guide the vehicle into a narrow zone. Ground control maintains the possibility of canceling the capture if it detects a condition outside the established parameters. Super Heavy must return six and a half minutes after liftoff; the return will test the V3 version of the booster for the first time (SpaceX). The Super Heavy must launch with Starship, accelerate the assembly, and separate from the upper stage as it continues into space. Afterward, the booster will invert its trajectory and begin its return. Capture is scheduled about six and a half minutes after the mission begins. The Gulf of Mexico will serve as an emergency zone if the return to Earth is no longer safe. This flight will be the first attempt at return and capture for a Super Heavy V3. The previous version has already accumulated experience: three V1 boosters were held by the tower in previous tests, and two were reused. The vehicle assigned to Flight 15 is booster 22, which passed suspended compression tests at the height where the arms must receive it. Controllers will monitor engines, tanks, and navigation during the orbital flight; any anomaly could cancel the capture at Starbase (Reuters TV capture). The result of that phase will show whether SpaceX can transfer the experience from previous models to a new generation of hardware. Recovering the booster is relevant because it concentrates a large number of engines, structures, and propulsion systems. Each unit that returns avoids the complete manufacturing of another first stage before the next launch. However, the upper stage poses a greater challenge. Starship must reach an altitude of about 275 kilometers, deploy its payload, remain in space for nearly 22 hours, and return from orbit. The plan includes about 14 orbits around the planet before the trajectory aligns with the position of Starbase. The flight begins with a passively safe suborbital route. If a problem appears during ascent or shortly thereafter, the ship will return over a clear area of the Indian Ocean. During the orbital period, the team has authorized splashdown alternatives over the Pacific. The mission plans for about 14 orbits at 275 kilometers and more than 22 hours of flight, before Starship returns to the Texas tower (SpaceX). There are options at the beginning and end of the mission near Hawaii, as well as another option halfway through off the coast of Chile. These routes allow the flight to end far from populated areas if a system does not meet the conditions for return to Texas. The previous mission reached orbit and released its payload for the first time, after more than a dozen test flights and years of development. That test concluded earlier than expected, for caution, after nearly three hours and two orbits. Flight 15 extends the duration, adds a ground recovery, and increases the number of decisions that must be correct. The tower's mechanical arms will hold Starship without landing legs, a system designed to accelerate its next launch (SpaceX). After the orbital phase, Starship will perform a deorbit maneuver with a Raptor 3 engine. This ignition will put it on a return route from a point in the Pacific located thousands of kilometers from Starbase. The ship will use four flaps to control its descent, correct its trajectory, and maintain a known flight corridor. The final journey will pass through sparsely populated areas of northern Mexico and southern Texas. According to the company's plan, Starship will avoid the main cities of the Rio Grande Valley, cross north of South Padre Island, and pass over the Gulf of Mexico before turning toward Starbase. Residents of Cameron County may hear sonic booms during the approach. A sonic boom is the brief noise produced when a vehicle exceeds the speed of sound. Its perceived intensity depends on the weather and other atmospheric conditions. SpaceX indicated that it does not pose a health risk, although nearby residents may hear one or several sounds similar to thunder. The sonic boom is visible during the launch and the rocket's re-entry - REUTERS/Steve Nesius. Re-entry places the thermal shield under observation. The ship incorporated reinforcements in the fasteners of the tiles located in sectors at risk of detachment during ascent. It also includes corrections in areas where plasma could pass through gaps behind the covering and curved pieces over a large part of the surface. This geometry seeks to reduce heating between the tiles. Three of the 26 Starlink V3 satellites planned for the mission will carry cameras that will take images of the thermal shield from the outside. The data will be added to Starship's sensors and will help determine if the ship can continue toward the base. The company has already used this observation method in previous flights. The SpaceX Starship and Super Heavy v3 booster launch on its 14th test flight from the SpaceX launch complex at Starbase, Texas (USA), on September 28, 2026. - REUTERS/Steve Nesius If Starship is authorized to complete the return, it will approach the Platform 2 tower. Shortly before, it will ignite three Raptor engines at sea level, regain vertical position, and fold its flaps. It will then reduce to two engines and enter the mechanical arms. In the final phase, it will operate with a single engine until it is suspended at the attachment points located beneath the front flaps. The arms must close quickly to hold the ship. When the system registers contact, Starship will shut down its last engine. Starship will deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites during its first 90 minutes in orbit, a cargo demonstration for the satellite network (SpaceX). If a problem arises during re-entry, controllers can order an early termination that will disintegrate the vehicle in the atmosphere before it reaches the ground. They can also send it to the Gulf of Mexico if the ship or the tower does not allow for a safe capture. Complete recovery would reduce the time, resources, and manufacturing needed to expand that network. SpaceX also links Starship with Starmind, an infrastructure of data center hubs for artificial intelligence. Both projects require a payload capacity and flight frequency that exceeds the reach of their current launchers. NASA chose a version of Starship to carry astronauts to the Moon in 2028; the system must demonstrate repeated operations before that (NASA). The founder and CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk, set a goal of 10,000 Starship flights per year by 2030. This figure demands that the system return whole and be available at reduced intervals. Flight 15 does not guarantee that cadence, but it can test the technical condition that supports that aspiration. NASA chose a version of Starship as a lunar lander for Artemis, the program that plans to take astronauts to the Moon in 2028. Before that mission, the system needs to demonstrate repeated flights, orbital propellant transfer, and complex operations with high safety margins. The double capture at Starbase will offer a concrete measure of that progress.