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SpaceX plans Starship test launch Friday, aiming to catch both rocket stages

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 6 outlets across the spectrum.

7 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Visitors watch a tall Starship rocket on its launch tower beside a waterway
Image via CNNHow images are chosenReport this image

SpaceX plans to launch its Starship rocket from Starbase in South Texas on Friday, with a launch window opening at 5:45 p.m. ET, according to CNN, The Daily Wire and MarketWatch. The company aims to bring back both the Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage ship, catching them with the launch tower’s arms. CNN reports SpaceX has succeeded in the booster return maneuver only three times before. The Daily Wire reports the Federal Aviation Administration has approved the launch. MarketWatch quotes an analyst who says the significance of the launch is hard to overstate.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. SpaceX plans to launch Starship from Starbase, Texas, on Friday.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CNN
    Center
    MarketWatch
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire

  2. The launch window opens at 5:45 p.m. ET.

    Reported byLeft1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CNN
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire

  3. SpaceX aims to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage ship on the launch tower’s arms.

    Reported byLeft1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CNN
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire

  4. The Federal Aviation Administration has approved the launch, according to The Daily Wire.

    One outletThe Daily Wire· Far Right

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that SpaceX plans a Friday Starship launch from Texas and an attempt to catch both rocket stages. The left stresses history and reusability, the center the historic launch and an analyst’s view of its significance, and the right the daring, historic attempt.

  • the left

    3 outlets

    Left headlines frame the launch around history and firsts, such as an unprecedented test flight, a first double catch and reusability.

    SpaceX aims to make history with ship catch in unprecedented test flight
    CNNLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    2 outlets

    Center headlines frame the flight as a historic launch in preparation, with MarketWatch leaning on an analyst’s view of its significance.

    Space X prepares for historic Starship launch
    NewsNationCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    1 outlet

    The right-side coverage, from Far Right The Daily Wire, frames the launch as a daring, historic first in recovering both rocket stages.

    SpaceX Aims For Historic First In Sensational language“Daring”The adjective adds drama to a recovery attempt that the report describes in neutral terms elsewhere.More neutral: Starship recovery attemptDisagree with this highlight? Starship Recovery Attempt
    The Daily WireFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left1

    audacious grab

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right1

    Daring

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    audacious grabMore neutral: ambitious attempt

    The adjective audacious adds a judgement about the company's ambition beyond the plain fact of a planned recovery attempt.

    SpaceX is set to make an audacious grab for ‘holy grail’ of rocketry.

    Used byCNN (Left)

  • Sensational language

    DaringMore neutral: Starship recovery attempt

    The adjective adds drama to a recovery attempt that the report describes in neutral terms elsewhere.

    SpaceX Aims For Historic First In Daring Starship Recovery Attempt

    Used byThe Daily Wire (Far Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

3 outlets

Leads with

  • history and firsts
  • the ship catch
  • reusability of the rocket
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • the historic launch
  • analyst view of significance
  • the upcoming flight
See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the historic first
  • recovery of both stages
  • size and power of the rocket
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines
  • The Daily WireFar Right

    SpaceX Aims For Historic First In Sensational language“Daring”The adjective adds drama to a recovery attempt that the report describes in neutral terms elsewhere.More neutral: Starship recovery attemptDisagree with this highlight? Starship Recovery Attempt

    SpaceX is preparing for a historic first with the launch and retrieval of the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. Starship Flight 15 is set to take off on Friday from Starbase in South Texas in a monumental attempt to catch both stages of the rocket on its return to …

    Read at The Daily Wire (opens in a new tab)

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    CNN, Nov 12, 1:27 PM EST

  • Center

    18 hr 18 min later

    Its first report, Nov 13, 7:45 AM EST

  • Right

    21 hr 17 min later

    Its first report, Nov 13, 10:44 AM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. CNNLeftNov 12, 1:27 PM EST
  2. NewsNationCenterNov 13, 7:45 AM EST
  3. The Daily WireFar RightNov 13, 10:44 AM EST
  4. MarketWatchCenterNov 13, 11:54 AM EST
  5. The Boston GlobeFar LeftNov 13, 12:49 PM EST
  6. CBS NewsLeftNov 13, 1:15 PM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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