SpaceX is targeting Nov. 13 at 4:45 p.m. CT for Starship Flight 15, the first try at catching both stages. Times, how to watch, what is unconfirmed.
As of Nov. 8, 2026, SpaceX says Starship Flight 15 is preparing to launch as soon as Friday, Nov. 13, pending regulatory approval. The 75-minute window opens at 4:45 p.m. CT, which is 5:45 p.m. ET and 3:45 p.m. PT, from Starbase in Texas. SpaceX posted the plan on its website on Saturday, Nov. 7, and it is the first flight meant to bring back both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage for a tower catch.
Here is what happens, when to watch, and what is still not locked in.
What time is the Starship Flight 15 launch, and how do you watch?
The window opens at 4:45 p.m. CT on Nov. 13 and runs 75 minutes. SpaceX says a live webcast starts about 30 minutes before liftoff, so roughly 5:15 p.m. ET, on its website and on X at @SpaceX. Coverage is planned to continue through the ship catch, according to the company.
SpaceX also warns that the schedule is dynamic and likely to change. That matters, because the date is a target and not a license. Teslarati reported on Nov. 5 that the FAA's Starship page did not yet list a Flight 15 license, and we could not confirm a license on any page we read for this story. A slip of a day or more would not be unusual for a first-of-its-kind attempt.
How does the double catch work?
This is a two-day event, which surprises some people. The booster comes back first. SpaceX's own timeline puts the Super Heavy landing burn and catch about 6 minutes and 35 seconds after liftoff. Booster 22 would be the first Super Heavy V3 to try it. SpaceX has caught three of the earlier V1 boosters, and two of those flew again.
The ship takes much longer. Ship 42 is planned to reach an altitude of about 275 kilometers (roughly 170 miles) and orbit Earth about 14 times over a flight of more than 22 hours. SpaceX's timeline lists the ship catch at about 22 hours and 34 minutes after liftoff. By our arithmetic, a launch at the start of the window would put that catch around mid-afternoon CT on Saturday, Nov. 14. That is our estimate from SpaceX's approximate times, not a posted schedule.
SpaceX adds a condition: Starship will only return to Starbase if flight controllers confirm the systems needed for reentry, the final landing burn and the tower approach are healthy. If not, the company says it can deorbit over the ocean instead.
What is the ship carrying?
Starship is set to deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites. SpaceX says each one adds about 1 terabit of capacity to the network, and the full set is comparable to roughly 10 Starlink V2 Mini launches on Falcon 9. Three of the satellites carry cameras to inspect the heat shield and send images to operators. After checkout, SpaceX says the satellites could start serving customers within a few weeks.
The heat shield also changes. SpaceX says it has added tile retention mechanisms in the areas at highest risk of losing tiles on ascent and fixed flow paths that let hot plasma get behind tiles. A large portion of the shield uses a curved tile design that SpaceX says has reduced heating in the gaps.
What does it mean for people in Texas?
To get home, the ship has to cross land. SpaceX says it will fly over sparsely populated parts of northern Mexico and southern Texas on the way in. Starlust reports the path passes major Rio Grande Valley cities and north of South Padre Island before turning over the Gulf toward Starbase. Every earlier Starship ended its flight over open water, so this is a real change in risk that local residents will watch closely.
What is confirmed and what is not?
- Confirmed by SpaceX: target date Nov. 13, window opening 4:45 p.m. CT, 75 minutes long, pending regulatory approval.
- Confirmed by SpaceX: first planned return and catch of both the booster and the ship, with 26 Starlink V3 satellites on board.
- Not confirmed: an FAA license for the return flight, and any exact time for the ship catch.
- Background reported by outlets: Flight 14 reached orbit on Sept. 28, according to Starlust and India Today, but the ship was brought down after about three hours instead of the planned 10 because of engine trouble, per Starlust.
Our take
This is the flight where Starship either looks like a reusable rocket or does not. Catching the booster is old news by now. Bringing the ship back in one piece is the part nobody has done, and SpaceX's own wording, that it is a step toward the first full recovery of an orbital launch system, is fair. We would plan on the Nov. 13 date as a hope and keep Nov. 14 and 15 open. If you want to watch the ship catch live, that is the moment worth being at a screen for, and it lands on a Saturday afternoon in the U.S., which is convenient.
Related reading
Picture credit: Photo: Steve Jurvetson (CC BY 2.0), file photo of Flight 5. Design: Savvy VibeZ
