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Space·1 min read

Starship Flight 15: SpaceX Will Try to Catch Both Stages

SpaceX plans to catch both Starship stages with its giant launch tower arms on Flight 15. No company has ever recovered a complete orbital rocket.

Starship rocket on the launch tower at Starbase with giant catch arms extended.
Image: xataka.com
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Starship Flight 15 is scheduled for tonight, and SpaceX wants to do something nobody has done: catch the booster and then the upper stage with giant tower arms, the same hardware that has already caught the first stage before.

Liftoff is planned for 22:45 GMT on 13 November 2026, inside a 75-minute launch window. About 6 minutes and 35 seconds later, the Super Heavy booster should return to Starbase, where the Mechazilla tower will grab it in mid-air with arms that look like giant chopsticks. SpaceX has done this several times with the booster.

The hard part comes later. Around 22.5 hours after launch, at roughly 21:17 GMT on Saturday 14 November, Mechazilla is meant to catch the second stage, the Ship. In between, the Ship is planned to fly 14 orbits and deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites before heading home.

Why does catching Starship matter?

Starship has two stages: the Super Heavy booster and the Ship. Nobody, no agency and no company, has recovered a complete rocket. If SpaceX pulls it off, it could save a lot of money on launches, and leaving less debris in space would be a side benefit.

How did Flight 14 go?

It was a success. For the first time, the Ship reached Earth orbit and put a payload there: another 26 V3 satellites.

This time the stakes are higher, and the Ship catch is the riskiest part. Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO, has put the odds of success at between 50% and 60%.

You can watch live on SpaceX's website, where the company streams every launch.

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Tags:spacexstarshipmechazillastarlinkelon musk

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