Elon Musk SpaceX Starship Flight 15 ship catch
by Not A Charm: Elon Musk
Lucas notes that Elon is betting on Flight 15 next month to finally snag both the booster and upper stage with tower arms, a move that would see Starship recovered at the pad for the first time by any orbital rocket. They already nailed booster catches, but this full recovery is the only path to true reusability needed to extend consciousness beyond Earth sustainably. Success isn't guaranteed even if it feels more likely than not, yet there is a steady stream of Starship attempts planned through year-end before accelerating next year.
Transcript (en)
For Flight 15, which we expect to happen next month, we're going to attempt to catch both the booster and the ship. If we succeed, it will be the first time that an orbital launch vehicle has been fully recovered. This is a massive technology milestone. The only way that we can extend consciousness beyond Earth on a sustained basis is with a fully reusable orbital launch vehicle. So this is a profound technology milestone in the history of civilization consciousness. So let's look at what a simulation of flight 15 would look like if we succeed. If we don't succeed in Flight 15, we'll get there. So success is not guaranteed on these first flights, but I'd say it's more likely than not that this succeeds next flight. And if not, we have a steady stream of Starship flight attempts through the end of this year and then accelerating next year. So with that, the Flight 15.
