SpaceX to attempt dual tower catch of Starship and Super Heavy on Flight 15

SpaceX is targeting mid-November 2026 for the fifteenth integrated test flight of its Starship launch vehicle from Orbital Launch Pad 2 at Starbase in Texas, according to Futura Sciences futura-sciences.comFutura Sciencesfutura-sciences.comOpen source ↗. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) planning document lists November 12 or 13 as the earliest window, though launch calendars also cite November 30 pending regulatory approval. The mission aims to place the upper stage into low Earth orbit and perform the first simultaneous recovery of both stages at the launch site during a single flight.

While previous missions demonstrated the capture of the Super Heavy booster—Booster 12 during Flight 5 and Booster 14 during Flight 7—this mission marks the first attempt to catch the upper-stage Starship using the mechanical arms of the launch tower. After orbital insertion, the vehicle must reenter the atmosphere, withstand peak aerothermal heating, and perform landing maneuvers toward the tower arms. Elon Musk previously estimated the probability of catching the ship on the first attempt at 50 to 60 percent.

Hardware and static fire testing

The flight will utilize Block 3 hardware, specifically Booster 22 and Ship 42. Both vehicles completed static fire testing ahead of the launch. On October 25, Booster 22 fired all 33 Raptor engines for approximately 15 seconds. Ship 42 completed single-engine and six-engine static fire tests, which included a simulated deorbit burn, and underwent fit checks with the launch tower arms in a post-catch configuration.

Operational goals and licensing

The flight follows Flight 14 on September 28, which reached orbit and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites despite an early shutdown of one Raptor engine during ascent futura-sciences.comFutura Sciencesfutura-sciences.comOpen source ↗. SpaceX Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell stated that the company expects FAA licensing to cover the return and dual catch operations. Demonstrating rapid stage recovery is intended to support the overall reusability architecture required for commercial operations and the Artemis lunar lander contract.