SpaceX Fires All 33 Engines on Starship Booster Before Next Launch

SpaceX has fired all 33 engines on the booster for its next Starship test flight, the first big check in a series of preparations for Flight 15. Space.com reported that the Super Heavy booster, known as Booster 22, ran its Raptor 3 engines for about 15 seconds in a static test on Sunday, Oct. 25.

The company called it a full-duration static fire in a post on X. The booster stayed on the ground during the test. Engineers use such burns to confirm that the engines and systems work before the rocket is cleared for launch.

What still has to happen before Flight 15

According to Space.com, the booster will be mated with the Flight 15 upper stage, Ship 42, ahead of launch. First, though, the ship has its own work to do. Ship 42 is due to complete a series of tests, including a static engine fire and final systems checks.

SpaceX has not officially confirmed what Flight 15 will carry. Space.com said it could be another batch of Starlink V3 satellites. Judging by recent Starship campaigns, Space.com reported, liftoff could come in mid-to-late November.

The catch attempt

The most closely watched goal of the flight is a landing technique. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said the company will try the first launch tower catch of a ship upper stage on Flight 15. If it works, Space.com wrote, it would be a significant step toward the company's goal of making Starship fully reusable.

SpaceX says its confidence in catching both the booster and the ship has grown this year. The company has flown Starship three times so far in 2026.

What Flight 14 showed

The most recent flight, Flight 14 on Sept. 28, reached orbit for the first time. It also deployed 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites, which Space.com described as the first operational payloads Starship has delivered to orbit. Those satellites are too big to fit aboard the company's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket.

The flight did not go entirely to plan. An upper-stage Raptor engine shut down early during ascent, and SpaceX cut the planned 10-hour mission short. The ship still made a controlled reentry and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean about three hours after liftoff.

Why it matters beyond Starlink

Upgrading SpaceX's global satellite network with the faster V3 satellites is a major reason the company is pushing to bring Starship into regular service, according to Space.com. Because the satellites do not fit on the Falcon 9, Starship is the vehicle that can carry them.

The rocket also matters to NASA. Under the Artemis program, the agency has contracted SpaceX to develop a modified Ship upper stage that can land astronauts on the surface of the moon. NASA recently updated the timeline of milestones SpaceX must reach with Starship before a lunar lander version can qualify to carry crews.

A significant demonstration mission is due next summer on Artemis III. Space.com reported that this mission will launch astronauts to Earth orbit aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft, which will dock with both lunar lander vehicles over about two weeks. Besides Starship, NASA contracted Blue Origin's Blue Moon spacecraft as another lander.

SpaceX is also working toward an uncrewed lunar landing demonstration ahead of Artemis IV, NASA's planned return of astronauts to the moon, targeted for 2028. Which lander will fly that mission has not been decided, and SpaceX and Blue Origin are both still competing for the first crewed Artemis landing.

What comes next

Beyond Flight 15, SpaceX hopes to reach more milestones before the end of 2026. They include Starship's first launch from Florida and, potentially, the first re-flight of an upgraded V3 Super Heavy booster. For now, the Booster 22 static fire starts the countdown of tests that lead to the next launch.

Around Prague, based on reporting by Space.com