Well folks, it’s time for the first booster RTLS and chopsticks catch attempt!
| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2024-10-13 12:25 |
|---|---|
| Scheduled for (local) | 2024-10-13 07:25 (CDT) |
| Launch Window (UTC) | 2024-10-13 12:00 to 2024-10-13 12:30 (30 minutes) |
| Launch site | Pad A, SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA. |
| Booster | B12 |
| Ship | S30 |
| Booster landing | Chopsticks catch at Pad A or soft water landing in Gulf of Mexico |
| Ship landing | Indian Ocean |
Webcasts
| Stream | Link |
|---|---|
| Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07kCgVCMCfA |
| Everyday Astronaut | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIKI7y3DTXk |
| Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyR_M5rCL64 |
| NASASpaceflight | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC87WmFN_As |
| LabPadre | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOJ54Y22cVI |
| The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpB62C9wWNA |
| VideoFromSpace | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42QHfZzGZs0 |
| SpaceX | https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1845210284270682178 |
| The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfuxxqc5yaI |
Stats
Sourced from NextSpaceflight and r/SpaceX:
☑️ 3rd Starship Full Stack launch this year
☑️ 5th Starship Full Stack launch overall
☑️ 98th SpaceX launch this year
☑️ 409th SpaceX launch overall (including Starship hops)
☑️ 3rd launch from Pad A this year
☑️ 128 days, 23:10:00 turnaround for this pad
Mission Details 🚀
- SpaceX website (current): Starship’s Fifth Flight Test
Link to Starship Dev thread
Landing burn shutdown! Chopsticks have caught the booster!
That was pretty unreal to watch. So little drama, it was like it was a render.
Stunning. They have no right to make it look so easy.
Holy fuck they did it
It’s launch day!
Currently T-5.5 hours, and NSF are live with pre-launch coverage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVUji1BLLjw
Chopsticks have opened wide.
Tank farm is spooling up.
:::happydance::: spaace…thefinalhfronteeah
Freakin’ phenomenal execution for this flight! Booster and Starship both performed exactly as designed! Successful catch for Super Heavy, and on target landing for Starship! Footage from SPI is also amazing to see!
LET’S GOOO
One of my favourite videos of the catch, because of what happens when the sonic booms arrive!: https://youtu.be/749dRxbSkVU (They’re at 6:51.) Also it’s a different angle from most of the others, because it’s from Mexico.
And a playlist: Starship IFT5 booster catch, original footage only
I was ready to wait until Christmas for this and now I’m not emotionally prepared!
If there’s a catch attempt I’m expecting a mild success where something goes wrong (those arms sway sooo much), but I’m optimistic about Ship reentry. Going to be great.
Hype! Let’s catch this guy.
Landing burn!
Splashdown confirmed! Live video from a nearby buoy!
Landing burn!
Boostback burn shutdown, tower is go for catch!
Flight director is go for launch.
Mission control callout: Starship has entered peak heating phase.
Edit: Halfway through peak heating phase. Landing engine chill has begun.
Ship velocity seems to have peaked around 26756 km/h, starting to slow down now.
