The key facts

  • The 15th Starship test flight is scheduled for November 13, subject to regulatory approval
  • For the first time, an attempt will be made to catch the Super Heavy V3 booster
  • The previous launch on September 28 ended with the ship exploding during splashdown

The launch is scheduled for November 13

SpaceX is preparing for the 15th test flight of the Starship rocket system, which could take place as early as Friday, November 13, subject to approval from regulators. The liftoff is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. Central Standard Time (1:45 a.m. Moscow time on November 14). The company's press service reported this, as cited by Gazeta.Ru, with reference to RIA Novosti.

First attempt to catch Super Heavy V3

The main feature of the upcoming flight is the first-ever attempt to catch not only the Starship itself, but also its heavy booster Super Heavy V3: both stages are to return to the launch site to be caught by the tower. Starship, as the second stage and spacecraft, is to complete about 14 orbits around Earth over 22 hours of flight. The company emphasizes that a successful launch would be a breakthrough moment — the first full recovery of the orbital launch system and a step toward turning Starship into a 'reliable, rapidly reusable rocket.'

What happened before

The previous, 14th flight took place on September 28: for the first time, a ship carrying 26 Starlink internet satellites was sent to orbit. However, the ship was deorbited seven hours earlier than planned without explanation, and it exploded during its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Thus, the new launch is meant to show whether the company can repeat and improve on the September result — this time with both stages being caught. The article separately cites a statement previously made by Musk that SpaceX's goal is to meet aliens; this is his personal formulation, unrelated to the parameters of the upcoming flight.