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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The headline referred to a real event, but it is not a current launch alert. Futurism published “NASA Is Mega Hyped About SpaceX’s Imminent Starship Test Flight” on October 11, 2024, about Starship’s fifth integrated flight test, which SpaceX hoped to launch as soon as October 13 pending regulatory approval. By August 2026, that flight was long over: SpaceX’s official archive lists Starship’s 13th flight test as completed on July 24, 2026.
What made Flight 5 important was not simply another launch. SpaceX planned to attempt a tower catch of the returning Super Heavy booster, while NASA was watching for data relevant to the Starship-derived Human Landing System (HLS) being developed for Artemis.
Which Starship flight did the headline mean?
The article was written by Frank Landymore and published by Futurism on October 11, 2024. “Imminent” meant a possible launch on October 13, 2024, subject to Federal Aviation Administration authorization. The subject was Starship’s fifth integrated flight test, not a launch planned for 2026.
The original report said Lori Glaze, then acting deputy associate administrator within NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said NASA was “really looking forward” to the test. Futurism attributed that reporting to SpaceNews. “Mega hyped” was the publication’s informal headline language, not a formal NASA endorsement or certification.
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SpaceX’s archive now records a later milestone: Starship’s 13th flight test was completed on July 24, 2026. The archive entry establishes that the program continued through additional tests, but it does not by itself prove that every objective of Flight 13 was achieved.
What NASA was actually excited about
NASA’s interest was primarily about learning whether Starship could develop into a dependable lunar-transport system. That is different from NASA approving a particular test result, declaring Starship ready for astronauts, or guaranteeing that Artemis missions will use it on their original schedule.
- Flight-test data: Integrated tests reveal how the vehicle, engines, guidance systems, heat protection and recovery hardware perform together.
- Artemis capability: NASA selected SpaceX to develop Starship HLS for Artemis III and Artemis IV.
- Safety oversight: NASA still requires the lander to meet mission and crew-safety requirements before human use.
NASA describes integrated Starship tests as providing critical data for HLS development, while its human-landing-system program retains formal safety and readiness responsibilities.
NASA Human Landing Systems overview · NASA Starship HLS information
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Why Flight 5’s booster catch mattered
Earlier Starship tests generally returned the Super Heavy booster to an ocean splashdown. Flight 5 was intended to attempt something more demanding: guiding the booster back to the launch tower, where two mechanical arms—widely called “chopsticks”—would capture it.
What a catch could demonstrate
- More precise control during descent and terminal approach.
- A recovery method designed to avoid a conventional ocean landing.
- A possible path toward faster turnaround in a reusable launch system.
That objective was significant for SpaceX’s long-term architecture, but it was only one subsystem-level milestone. A booster catch does not demonstrate orbital propellant transfer, lunar navigation, a lunar landing, ascent from the Moon, or human-rating.
The context mattered. Starship’s first two integrated tests ended destructively, while Flight 4 showed improved performance: both stages reached space and returned largely intact. Flight 5 was therefore framed as a more ambitious recovery attempt, not as a completed lunar-lander qualification.
Futurism’s October 11, 2024 article
How Starship fits into Artemis
Starship HLS is a lunar-lander variant of the Starship system. NASA lists the HLS concept at about 165 feet (50 meters) tall. It is related to the regular Starship/Super Heavy test vehicles, but the vehicles are not interchangeable: the lunar lander needs systems and operating capability for long-duration spaceflight, lunar descent and ascent, crew support, and rendezvous with Orion.
NASA’s planned operating concept is a multi-launch campaign rather than a single launch to the Moon:
- Launch the lunar lander into Earth orbit.
- Deploy and use a propellant depot.
- Conduct multiple tanker flights.
- Transfer propellant in orbit.
- Send the fueled lander toward lunar orbit.
- Rendezvous or dock with Orion.
- Land on the Moon, support astronauts, then launch back to lunar orbit and reconnect with Orion.
NASA’s Artemis III overview also calls for an uncrewed lunar landing demonstration before astronauts rely on the system.
What changed in NASA’s Artemis plan by 2026?
Older coverage often described Starship HLS as the vehicle that would directly land Artemis III astronauts. NASA’s 2026 materials describe a different sequence.
| Mission | Current NASA description | Timing in cited NASA material |
|---|---|---|
| Artemis III | Earth-orbit demonstration focused on rendezvous and docking between Orion and commercial human-landing-system test vehicles from SpaceX and Blue Origin | 2027 |
| Artemis IV | First planned crewed lunar South Pole mission under the revised plan | 2028 target |
This is a major correction to the 2024 context. Starship HLS remains strategically important, but the mission architecture and sequence have evolved. NASA also announced in July 2026 that SpaceX would provide two Starlink mini laser terminals for Orion, intended to transmit high-definition imagery and video to mission control.
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NASA’s Artemis III schedule and crew announcement · NASA’s preliminary Artemis III plan · NASA-Starlink communications announcement
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What remains unproven
Orbital refueling
The depot-and-tanker architecture depends on transferring large quantities of propellant in orbit. That is a central operational requirement, not a detail that can be inferred from an atmospheric test or a booster recovery.
Lunar landing and ascent
A vehicle that performs well around Earth must still navigate, land on the Moon, support astronauts on the surface and launch back to lunar orbit. Those phases impose different guidance, propulsion, thermal and reliability requirements.
Human-rating and safety
NASA’s crewed missions require formal verification, validation and safety oversight. A successful uncrewed flight is evidence of progress, not a crew-carrying certification.
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Schedule and regulatory risk
Launch licenses, environmental reviews, technical failures, heat-shield issues, engine-start aborts, recovery-hardware failures and delays to the uncrewed lunar demonstration could all affect the sequence. NASA’s Office of Inspector General has warned that schedule slips and technical challenges leave limited margin before later crewed milestones.
NASA Office of Inspector General report on Human Landing System contracts
How to read the 2024 headline today
- It was a historical report about Flight 5, not a current announcement.
- NASA’s enthusiasm referred to the value of test data and Artemis progress, not unconditional approval.
- The tower-catch attempt addressed booster recovery and reusability, not the complete lunar mission.
- Starship HLS is being developed for Artemis, but the regular test vehicle and lunar lander are different configurations.
- NASA’s 2026 Artemis III plan is an Earth-orbit demonstration, with Artemis IV identified as the first planned crewed lunar South Pole mission.
The Bottom Line
The Futurism headline captured genuine NASA interest in SpaceX’s October 2024 Starship Flight 5, especially its planned Super Heavy tower catch. But “imminent” is now obsolete. Starship testing continued through the Flight 13 milestone listed for July 24, 2026, while NASA revised Artemis III into an Earth-orbit demonstration and retained demanding, unresolved requirements before Starship HLS can carry astronauts to the Moon.
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