SpaceX Attempts First Double Catch of Starship on 15th Flight as It Plans Data Centers

SpaceX is set to launch its 15th Starship flight on Friday from Starbase in South Texas, attempting for the first time to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage Ship during a roughly 22-hour mission. The launch window is 75 minutes, opening at 5:45 p.m. ET, and the Federal Aviation Administration approved the launch in a late-afternoon sign-off on Friday. The booster is to return to the Texas pad and be caught by the launch tower's mechanical arms. The Ship is to climb to about 170 miles, deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites, orbit Earth 14 times, then return for its own catch after the booster has been removed. SpaceX is working toward the first fully reusable rocket, a step meant to speed travel to the Moon and Mars. Separately, the company plans a $74 billion investment in data centers in Texas and Arizona, having already spent billions on such server facilities.

Right-leaning Daily Wire leads with the launch and frames it in celebratory terms, calling it a historic first, a daring recovery attempt and a monumental effort. It supplies operational detail: the launch window, FAA approval, the 170-mile altitude, the 14 orbits and the reusability goal. Left-leaning The New York Times is covering a different angle, leading with SpaceX's $74 billion data center plan for Texas and Arizona. It describes the company as Elon Musk's rocket and artificial intelligence firm and stresses the billions already spent. Its excerpt does not mention the Starship flight. The two sides agree only on the company and its Texas footprint; they differ in subject, with the right on spaceflight milestones and the left on AI infrastructure spending. AP and BBC largely match the right's focus on the double catch, and AP adds the Moon and Mars goal.