SpaceX catches Starship's upper stage at its launch tower after 14 laps of the Earth, a first

The stories

5 on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

1. 01

   SpaceX catches Starship's upper stage at its launch tower after 14 laps of the Earth, a first

   14

   laps of the Earth Ship 42 made before it was caught

   the longest Starship flight yet [12]

   26

   Starlink satellites the ship released on the way

   the new V3 kind, too big for SpaceX's Falcon rockets [3]

   $25,000

   a pound: what the reusable Space Shuttle really cost to launch

   against the $25 a pound first hoped for [2]

   What happened

   • SpaceX caught the upper stage of its Starship rocket with its launch tower's arms on Saturday 14 November. [1]
   • It was the first time an upper stage had been caught on its way back from orbit. [4]
   • The upper stage, called Ship 42, had circled the Earth 14 times in about 22 hours. [5]
   • Starship is the world's biggest rocket, 124 metres tall with both halves stacked. [5]
   • Its bottom half, the Super Heavy booster, blew up over the Gulf of Mexico on Friday instead. [5]
   • The booster's guidance computer sensed it was out of position, so it steered itself out to sea. [5]
   • Elon Musk, who runs SpaceX, said the booster was "slightly low on fuel". [7]
   • Payload, a space news site, reports only 32 of its 33 engines relit to fly it home. [1]
   • On the way up, the ship released 26 Starlink internet satellites. [3]
   • SpaceX says it reached every one, and all are rising to their working orbits. [1]
   • Cameras on some of those satellites, and on the ground, checked the ship's tile-covered heat shield. [12]
   • The heat shield protects the ship from the heat of falling back through the air. [4]
   • To come home, the ship fired 1 engine to drop out of orbit. [1]
   • Near the tower it lit 3 engines, flipped upright and lowered itself into the tower's arms. [1]
   • Only 2 small pegs, each sticking out about a foot, rested on the arms. [2]
   • The catch came at 21:20 GMT, roughly 22.5 hours after lift-off. [8]
   • SpaceX, the US rocket company founded by Elon Musk, builds and flies Starship from south Texas. [4]
   • NASA is paying SpaceX billions of dollars to land astronauts on the Moon with a version of Starship. [5]
   • Jared Isaacman, NASA's head, called the catch "almost magic" on X. [3]
   • SpaceX has flown 15 full-size Starship test flights since 2023. [4]
   • The tower had caught the booster 3 times before, on Flights 5, 7 and 8. [3] SpaceX has flown 2 of those boosters again. [11]
   • The ship first reached orbit on Flight 14, on 28 September. [8]

   Who is involved

   • SpaceX the US rocket company founded by Elon Musk; it built Starship and caught its upper stage
   • Elon Musk SpaceX's founder and chief executive; he said the booster was slightly low on fuel
   • NASA the US space agency; it is paying SpaceX billions to land astronauts with a version of Starship
   • Jared Isaacman NASA's head and an ally of Musk; he called the catch almost magic

   How it unfolded

   1. 28 Sep Flight 14: the ship reaches orbit for the first time [8]
   2. 14 Nov Ship 42 is caught by the tower after 14 laps of the Earth [1]
   3. 14 Nov Ship 42 caught
   4. 18 Nov the FAA's online public meeting on more Starbase launches [13]
   5. 2023 the first full-size Starship test flight [4]
   6. 13 Nov Flight 15 lifts off; the booster is lost in the Gulf of Mexico [5]

   Why it matters

   SpaceX wants Starship to land and take off again like an airliner, to cut the cost of spaceflight. [7]

   NASA's Artemis III, planned for summer 2027, has 4 astronauts docking with Starship. [6] The landing, Artemis IV, is targeted for as soon as 2028. [5]

   Think it through

   1. 1

      Why catch a rocket at all?

      A rocket that comes back whole can fly again, which cuts the cost of every launch. [6]

      Rocket comes back whole→It flies again→Each launch costs less
   2. 2

      Hasn't a reusable spaceship been built before?

      NASA's Space Shuttle flew 135 times in 30 years. [2] Its launches were meant to cost $25 a pound, but came nearer $25,000. [2]

      $25 a poundShuttle, the plan

      vsvs

      about $25,000Shuttle, the reality
   3. 3

      Why did reuse not make it cheap?

      Its heat shield needed painstaking repair after every flight. [2] Each orbiter cost a fortune to build, and NASA built only 5 that flew. [2]

      5 of 5

      Shuttles NASA built that flew

   4. 4

      So what does SpaceX still have to prove?

      It must get a caught ship ready and flying again fast, which is still untested. [10] Its president, Gwynne Shotwell, aims to refly a ship by early next year. [1]

      Ship caughtdone

      ↓→

      Ship flies againearly next year
   5. 5

      How often does SpaceX want to fly it?

      SpaceX aims for 135 Starship flights a year within a few years, Ars Technica reports. [2] That is the Shuttle's 30-year total, every year. [2]

      135 in 30 yearsSpace Shuttle

      vsvs

      135 a yearStarship goal
   6. 6

      Who gains most if it works?

      Starlink, SpaceX's own internet network, does: its new V3 satellites are too big for SpaceX's Falcon rockets. [3]

   7. 7

      And what about Starlink's rival?

      Amazon's Leo network is built to compete with Starlink. [17] Its next 40 satellites wait on a Vulcan rocket delayed again on Saturday. [14]

      26 more upStarlink

      vsvs

      40 waitingAmazon Leo
   8. 8

      So what is really going on?

      If Starship can fly again quickly, SpaceX holds the first fully reusable orbital rocket. [3] NASA's Moon landings and Starlink's growth both wait on it. [5][4]

   How it works

   Engineers who plan reuse call the time and work to ready a used vehicle its turnaround.

   Catching the ship at its own tower lets SpaceX inspect, repair and refly it faster, SpaceX says. [8]

   Seen it before

   A school's reusable water bottles only save money if washing them costs less than buying new ones.

   The truth

   • What is really going on SpaceX has now caught both halves of Starship, but never on the same flight, and has not yet flown a caught ship again. [6][10]Until it does, nobody knows whether reusing Starship costs less than building new, which the reusable Space Shuttle never managed. [10][2]
   • SpaceX first blamed a guidance problem for the booster's miss. [9] Universe Today reports a fuel-system alarm, and the root cause is still being investigated. [4]
   • Isaacman, who praised the flight, is an ally of Musk, who advised Donald Trump to appoint him. [7]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How long, and how much, it will take to make Ship 42 ready to fly again.

     SpaceX has given no cost for it, saying only that it aims to refly a ship by early next year. [1]

   Good news

   • Ship 42 came home in one piece and could, in theory, fly again. [1]

   What comes next

   On 18 November the FAA, the US aviation regulator, holds an online public meeting on more Starship launches from Starbase. [13]

1. 02

   Vulcan's return slips a second day

   What happened

   • ULA, a US rocket company, has put off its Vulcan rocket's return to flight for a second day. [15]
   • On 14 November, a network fault between ground equipment and the rocket stopped the countdown. [14]
   • On 13 November, a power cut at a nitrogen gas plant had stopped the first try. [14]
   • Vulcan has not flown for 9 months, since a booster nozzle failed on 12 February. [16]
   • A nozzle is the bell-shaped exhaust at the bottom of a booster. [16] Nozzles failed on 2 of Vulcan's first 4 flights. [16]
   • This flight is the first with a redesigned nozzle. [16]
   • It carries 40 satellites for Amazon Leo, the first of 38 Vulcan launches Amazon has bought. [16]

   How it unfolded

   1. 13 Nov stopped by a power cut
   2. 14 Nov stopped by a network fault
   3. 14 Nov second delay
   4. 15 Nov next try

   Why it matters

   The US Space Force stopped putting its own satellites on Vulcan until ULA fixes the fault. [17]

   Think it through

   1. 1

      Is the rocket itself at fault?

      ULA says the rocket and the satellites are healthy; both faults were in ground systems. [14][15]

      Rockethealthy

      ++

      Satelliteshealthy
   2. 2

      Who is waiting on Vulcan?

      Amazon's Leo network, built to compete with Starlink, needs these launches. [17] Starlink put 26 more satellites up on Starship on Friday. [3]

      40 waitingAmazon Leo

      vsvs

      26 more upStarlink
   3. 3

      So what is really at stake?

      ULA's chief, Mark Peller, says this flight will give flight data on whether the fix works. [16]

      New nozzle→This flight's data→Proof the fix works, or not

   How it works

   Launch teams call the short stretch when a rocket can leave for its target orbit its launch window.

   Vulcan's window on 14 November lasted 29 minutes, too short for the fix its network fault needed. [14]

   Seen it before

   Miss the school bus by a minute and you wait for the next one, however ready you are.

   Why a reusable rocket saves money only if it is cheap to get ready again

   Maintenance engineers call it turnaround: the time and work to ready a used machine, and it decides whether reuse saves money.

   The twist

   Catching a rocket is only half of reuse. If getting it ready to fly again is slow and costly, a reused rocket can cost nearly as much as a new one.

   The picture

   $25 a poundShuttle, the plan

   vsvs

   about $25,000Shuttle, the reality

   Step by step

   1. 1 A rocket comes back in one piece
   2. 2 Crews inspect and repair it
   3. 3 The repairs cost time and money
   4. 4 Quick, cheap repairs make each flight cheaper
   5. 5 Slow, costly repairs eat up the saving

   The same force, elsewhere today

   Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

   • Vulcan's return slips a second day

     ULA's ground fix needed longer than the 29-minute launch window, so the time to get ready again cost a whole day.

   Where you've seen this

   Airlines

   a plane earns money only while it flies, so crews clean, refuel and check it between flights as fast as they safely can

   Refillable bottles

   washing and refilling must cost less than making a new bottle, or collecting the old one is not worth it

   Hire bikes

   a bike waiting in the repair shop earns nothing, so fleets use parts that are quick to swap

   The catch

   A fast turnaround is worth having only if the repaired rocket is as safe as a new one. A rushed check can turn the saving into a lost rocket.

   And the whole of it

   Millions watched Ship 42 settle into the tower's arms. The inspections and repairs that decide whether catching it was worth it will happen out of sight. Most of the machines we rely on, from planes to trains, run on that same unseen work.

   The truth

   • ULA has named only "potential contributors" to the February nozzle failure, not a single cause. [17]
   • Nobody knows yet

     When Vulcan will finally fly.

     Two tries in two days were stopped by two different ground faults, and Sunday's try still needs range approval. [14]

   What comes next

   The next try is set for 12:11 pm Florida time on Sunday 15 November. [14]

1. 03

   Webb finds ancient ice around a young star

   What happened

   • The James Webb Space Telescope has found ice in the disc of dust around a young star, Beta Pictoris. [18]
   • The star is about 20 million years old and 64 light-years from Earth. [18]
   • Planets are still forming in its disc, and astronomers have already found 3. [18]
   • A team led by astronomer Sarah Betti found water ice mixed with carbon dioxide ice. [18] The study appeared in the journal Science. [18]
   • Carbon dioxide makes up about 11% of the ice. [18] In comets around our Sun it ranges from 2.5% to 30%. [18]

   Who is involved

   • Water ice found
   • Carbon dioxide ice mixed in

   How it unfolded

   Earlier searches had found no ice there, though other signs pointed to it. [18]

   Why it matters

   It suggests the raw materials for water-rich planets may be common around young stars. [18]

   Think it through

   1. 1

      How can the ice be older than its planets?

      The ice is glassy, which happens when water freezes very fast and very cold. [18] So it most likely froze in deep space, before the planets formed. [18]

      Water freezes fast and cold→Glassy ice→Formed before the planets
   2. 2

      Why doesn't the star's light destroy it?

      Ice mixed with other molecules lasts longer under starlight than pure ice, models suggest. [18] Collisions between icy bodies also keep releasing fresh ice. [18]

      Pure icebreaks up fast

      vsvs

      Mixed icelasts longer
   3. 3

      What does it say about our own Solar System?

      Its ice may have formed the same way as ours. [18] If so, ice from deep space may be a common starting point for planets. [18]

   How it works

   Astronomers call this spectroscopy: splitting light into its colours to see what has soaked some of them up.

   Water ice soaks up light at about 3 micrometres, so a dip there in the disc's reflected light shows ice. [18]

   Seen it before

   You can tell blackcurrant juice from orange juice by its colour, without tasting either.

   The truth

   • The team could not say exactly how much crystal ice there is, or rule out other molecules. [18]
2. 04

   Mars and Jupiter meet in the dawn sky

   What happened

   • Mars and Jupiter appear very close together in the sky on the nights of 15 and 16 November. [20]
   • They will be 1.2 degrees apart, about a finger's width at arm's length, says a Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomer. [20]
   • Seen from the US, they rise in the east around midnight, beside Regulus, a bright star. [19]
   • The pair will not be this close again until July 2029. [19]
   • Mercury and Venus are also up before dawn this month, making a line of 4 planets. [20]

   How it unfolded

   1. 16 Nov Mars and Jupiter closest
   2. 24 Nov first of 4 supermoons

   Why it matters

   Anyone with a clear view of the eastern sky can see them without a telescope. [20]

   Think it through

   1. 1

      Are the two planets really close together?

      No: they are more than 592 million km apart, and only line up as seen from Earth. [19]

      1.2 degreesIn our sky

      vsvs

      592 million kmIn space
   2. 2

      What does a small telescope show?

      A 6-inch telescope shows Jupiter's cloud bands and dark marks on Mars's reddish surface. [19]

      Jupitercloud bands

      ++

      Marsdark marks

   How it works

   Astronomers call two planets passing close in our sky an appulse. [19]

   Mars catches up with Jupiter every 2 to 2.5 years, as Jupiter moves along its more distant orbit. [19]

   Seen it before

   On a running track, a runner in the inside lane keeps catching up with one in the outside lane.

   What comes next

   From 24 November, a full Moon, the first of 4 supermoons in a row, joins the planets before dawn. [20]

3. 05

   India fires a rebuilt PSLV rocket stage

   What happened

   • ISRO, India's space agency, fired a rebuilt third stage of its PSLV rocket on a test stand on 12 November. [21]
   • The PSLV is ISRO's workhorse rocket, and ISRO wants it back on track. [21]
   • The test ran at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, ISRO's launch base. [21]
   • ISRO strengthened the stage's nozzle and tightened checks on its materials and assembly. [21]
   • It also added redundancy, meaning backup parts, to the stage's seals. [21]

   Who is involved

   • ISRO India's space agency
   • PSLV its workhorse rocket

   How it unfolded

   The third stage had problems on 2 recent missions, PSLV-C61 and PSLV-C62. [21]

   Why it matters

   ISRO is trying to get its main rocket back on track after the problems on 2 missions. [21]

   Think it through

   1. 1

      Is the PSLV fixed now?

      Not yet proven: ISRO says more tests are planned after reviewing this test's data. [21]

      Ground test passed→Data reviewed→More tests planned
   2. 2

      What did ISRO look at again?

      Not only the design: also how raw materials are accepted and how the stage is put together. [21]

      Designmargins

      ++

      Assemblyprocedures

      ++

      Materialschecks

   How it works

   Engineers call the gap between the load a part must take and what it can take its design margin. [21]

   ISRO changed the stage's nozzle to widen its design margins after the problems on 2 missions. [21]

   Seen it before

   A shelf built for twice the books you own will not sag when you add a few more.

   The truth

   • ISRO's statement does not say what exactly went wrong on the 2 missions. [21]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether ISRO's rebuilt stage has fixed the PSLV.

     ISRO says more tests are planned and has not given a date for the rocket's next flight. [21]

   Good news

   • The rebuilt stage passed its ground test, ISRO says. [21]