SpaceX Targets November 13 for Starship Flight 15 Dual Catch
SpaceX is targeting November 13 for the 15th Starship test flight, aiming to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage back at the launch tower.
SpaceX Starship Flight 15 is targeted for November 13, 2026, in a mission that aims to catch both stages of the giant reusable rocket back at the launch site for the first time. The plan was outlined by SpaceX vice president of launch Kiko Dontchev during a presentation on November 5 at UP.Summit at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and reported on November 9. The launch window opens at 5:45 p.m. Eastern Time from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, and lasts 75 minutes, until 7 p.m. After liftoff, crews will attempt to catch the descending Super Heavy first-stage booster and the upper-stage Ship back at the Mechazilla launch tower, a feat that would mark a major milestone for reusable rocket technology.
The SpaceX Starship Flight 15 mission is planned to last more than 22 hours, with the upper stage completing about 14 orbits of Earth at an altitude of roughly 170 miles. During the flight, the Ship is expected to deploy 26 third-generation Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. The hardware is ready for the attempt: the booster fired all 33 of its Raptor engines in a full-duration static fire test at Pad 2 on October 25, and the Ship completed two full-duration static fire engine tests in preparation for the flight. Regulatory approval is still pending.
SpaceX Starship Flight 15 and the Florida debut
The SpaceX Starship Flight 15 test comes after a string of milestones in 2026 for the world’s largest rocket, which reached orbit for the first time during the previous Starship flight test at the end of September. SpaceX is also preparing for a Florida debut, with Starship launch facilities being built at pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center and Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Company officials hope the first Starship liftoff from Florida will happen by the end of 2026, and the November 13 flight in Texas could be the last before that debut. SpaceX paused all rocket launches in Florida for six weeks after an October 20 mission to focus on making way for Starship. If the dual catch succeeds, it will show that both parts of the largest rocket ever built can return to the launch site and be reused, a key step toward making spaceflight cheaper and more routine.
Source: Florida Today
