SpaceX Gives Its First V3 Catch Booster a Squeeze at Starbase

SpaceX has moved Super Heavy Booster 22 to the launch pad at Starbase, where the rocket went straight into final catch testing ahead of a planned return to the launch site.

The company says B22 is the first Super Heavy V3 booster intended to come back for a tower catch. On arrival, testing included a “suspended squeeze test at catch height,” putting the booster and its catching hardware together before an actual flight return.

The update follows the rollout of Booster 21 in September, when SpaceX was preparing hardware for Starship Flight 14. This time, the detail to watch is the recovery plan: SpaceX is explicitly identifying B22 as the first V3 booster slated for a return-to-launch-site catch.

SpaceX has caught Super Heavy boosters before, starting with the first successful tower catch on Flight 5 on October 13, 2024. The company says three V1 boosters were caught on earlier flights. B22’s attempt would be the first for the newer V3 version, not SpaceX’s first booster catch overall.

This time, the plan is to catch the booster first, then Starship later. SpaceX’s Flight 15 mission plan calls for Super Heavy to return about 6 minutes and 35 seconds after liftoff. The upper-stage Starship would continue into orbit, deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites, and attempt its own tower catch about 22 hours and 32 minutes after launch, following roughly 14 orbits.

That would be the first attempt to bring both stages back for catches on the same mission. Starship’s return is conditional: flight controllers must confirm that the systems needed for reentry, the landing burn and the tower approach are healthy. A successful booster catch would not, by itself, guarantee a ship catch.

SpaceX shared four photos with the November 10 update, documenting the booster’s arrival and test campaign. Separately, its mission page targets launch as early as November 13, pending regulatory approval, in a 75-minute window opening at 4:45 p.m. Central. That follows the November 13 target shared by SpaceX’s launch chief. The date and recovery timeline remain subject to change.

In its update, SpaceX described the return and catch as a plan. The suspended test is a preparation milestone; the flight and recovery attempt still lie ahead.

For Starship watchers, B22 now gives the next V3 booster catch attempt a specific piece of hardware to follow. Do you think SpaceX will nail the first planned V3 booster catch?