Starship Flight 15 was counting down toward a November 13, 2026, launch target with potential tower catches of both rocket stages on the agenda. Source Source Source
NASASpaceflight reported FAA approval at 19:01 UTC that day. At 21:45 UTC, the outlet reported T-minus 60 minutes and relayed SpaceX’s assessment that everything was on track. Source Source
The outlet’s mission listing gave a target of 4:45 p.m. CST (22:45 UTC) from Pad 2 at Starbase. The 75-minute launch window was scheduled to close at 6 p.m. CST, or 00:00 UTC on November 14. The planned payload was 26 Starlink v3 satellites bound for low-Earth orbit. Source
SpaceX stacked Ship 42, the upper stage, atop Super Heavy Booster 22 at Pad 2 on November 12, according to NASASpaceflight’s coverage. Its commentators described Flight 15 as SpaceX’s first attempt to recover both Starship stages on a single mission. Under that plan, the booster would return to the pad while Ship 42 would reach orbit, deploy satellites and later return home. Source
Pad 2 would have to make room
In the sequence NASASpaceflight outlined, the booster would return first for an attempted catch by the tower’s arms. If caught, SpaceX would make it safe and remove it to prepare the pad for Ship 42’s later catch attempt. The launch listing named Pad 2 as the planned recovery location for both vehicles. The tower was being asked to work a split shift. Source Source
NASASpaceflight’s prelaunch commentators cautioned that going for both catches didn’t mean either would happen. Source
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