By The Star Queen · Monday, October 26, 2026 · Star Queen Chronicles
Starship stacked on the orbital launch mount at Starbase on May 26, 2025, the day before Flight 9. This is a photo from my own earlier visit, not Booster 22 and not from this week’s test. Photo: The Star Queen
Good morning, my starry-eyed friends! 🌟 Sunday morning at Starbase got loud. At about 8:22 a.m. Central (9:22 a.m. Eastern) on October 25, SpaceX lit all 33 Raptor engines on the Super Heavy booster that’s slated to fly Starship Flight 15. That afternoon SpaceX posted on X: “Full duration 33-engine static fire for the Super Heavy booster preparing for Flight 15.” SpaceX’s post didn’t give the booster’s number, but NASASpaceflight, Spaceflight Now and the Starbase camera crews all identify it as Booster 22.
What Is a Static Fire, Anyway?
A static fire is exactly what it sounds like: the rocket fires its engines while clamps on the launch mount hold it firmly to the ground. Think of it as a full dress rehearsal for liftoff, minus the actual lifting off. Engineers get to see every engine start, run and shut down together. They also check how the plumbing, valves and computers behave under real conditions, and how the pad handles all that heat and force.
“Full duration” is the key phrase. It means the booster ran as long as SpaceX planned, rather than being cut short by a problem. For a booster, this is one of the last big tests before it flies.
Two Busy Days on Pad 2
Booster 22 rolled out from the production site overnight into Saturday, October 24. That morning, the tower’s “chopsticks” (the giant arms that also catch returning boosters) lifted it onto the launch mount at Pad 2. Propellant loading started about half an hour before Sunday’s ignition. Starbase closed Boca Chica Beach and Highway 4 for the test, with Monday held as a backup day. SpaceX didn’t need the backup. 🙌
Pad 2 is the newer pad SpaceX built for the third-generation, or “V3,” Starship. Its first launch was Flight 12 in May, and it has hosted every Starship flight since, including Flight 14 on September 28. That was the flight where Starship reached orbit for the first time.
Why Booster 22 Is Special
Booster 22 is a V3 Super Heavy. Compared with older boosters, it has three bigger grid fins instead of four, and its hot-staging ring is built in rather than thrown away after each flight. It’s also powered by Raptor 3 engines. SpaceX says each sea-level Raptor 3 makes about 250 metric tons of thrust, and the engines are lighter than the previous version.
There’s a NASA angle too. At NASA’s Artemis briefing on October 23, Artemis program manager Jeremy Parsons said SpaceX had found the root cause of several Raptor relight failures on earlier flights. He said permanent hardware fixes are coming on Flight 15, which will fly an improved version of the Raptor. NASA cares a lot because Starship is one of its future Moon landers.
What Still Has to Happen Before Flight 15
Flight 15 is the big one. On SpaceX’s October 20 earnings call, Elon Musk said, “we’re going to attempt to catch both the booster and the ship.” SpaceX hasn’t published the Flight 15 mission plan yet, so I’ll call it final once the mission page goes up. No orbital rocket’s upper stage has ever been caught. 🤯 Before Flight 15 can happen, a few steps remain:
- The ship’s static fires are done. Ship 42 completed a single-engine test on October 26 and a six-engine test on October 27, according to NASASpaceflight. SpaceX hasn’t posted about the ship tests or confirmed the pairing with Booster 22 yet.
- The FAA license. As of Sunday, the FAA’s Starship page didn’t show a Flight 15 approval.
- Stacking and a fueling rehearsal on Pad 2.
When could it fly? SpaceX hasn’t announced a date. NASASpaceflight reports that air-traffic planning data point to no earlier than November 8. That’s an unofficial planning date, not a SpaceX announcement. Parsons said NASA expects the flight “probably in November.” For the last two campaigns, launch came about two to four weeks after the booster’s static fire.
The Star Queen’s Take 💫
I’ll admit it. I watched the replay more than once. 🔥 Every one of these tests puts a reusable Moon-and-Mars rocket one step closer, and if SpaceX does go for a double catch, it would be history. I’ll keep you posted the moment Ship 42 fires up, the catch plan is confirmed or a date becomes official. Keep looking up!
Sources
- Spaceflight News, “SpaceX Completes Full-Duration 33-Engine Static Fire of Super Heavy Booster 22 Ahead of Flight 15” (Oct. 25, 2026)
- Next Spaceflight, Booster 22 hardware page
- The Space Road, “When is Starship Flight 15?”
- NASA, “NASA’s Artemis III Mission to Test Future Moon Lander Operations” (Oct. 23, 2026)