'Don't panic': SpaceX pens familiar message on Starship

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - SpaceX plans to attempt its first recovery of a Starship spacecraft on land during its 15th flight, scheduled for Friday at 4:45 p.m. CT from its Starbase launch facility in South Texas. This mission marks a crucial test for Elon Musk's ambition to create a fully reusable rocket system. The 407-foot-tall Starship rocket will carry a batch of operational Starlink satellites, serving both revenue-generating purposes for the satellite connectivity business and testing capabilities for a rocket still in development.

As of Friday, SpaceX had not yet received a launch license from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which typically provides licenses a day prior to past Starship launches. SpaceX envisions the Starship rocket as essential for expanding its Starlink network with additional satellites and, in the future, deploying a fleet of AI data-processing satellites known as Starmind.

The mission also includes the return of the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage to Texas for the first time since the last successful vertical catch in March 2025.