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Xcitement is super-heavy in south Texas this week! Space enthusiasts are eager to watch SpaceX attempt to catch the Starship spacecraft and booster for the first time!

Recovering both is necessary to develop rocket reusability in order to reduce the cost of spaceflight long-term.

SpaceX is preparing for Starship Flight 15, scheduled for Friday, November 13, 2026, from Orbital Launch Pad 2 at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. The 75-minute window is set to open at 4:45 p.m. Central Time.

A live webcast is expected to begin about 30 minutes before liftoff on SpaceX’s website and on X @SpaceX, with coverage planned to continue through key events.

The mission, using Super Heavy Booster 22 and Ship 42 (both Block 3/V3 vehicles), plans the first attempt to return both the booster and the Starship upper stage to the launch site for catches by the Mechazilla tower’s mechanical arms.

If successful, it would mark the first full recovery of an orbital launch system — an important step toward rapid reusability. Engineers will gather important data during the test flight that will enable them to improve the launch system.

This will be the first catch attempt for a V3 Super Heavy booster (previous successful booster catches involved V1 vehicles) and the first tower catch attempt for a Ship. Contingency ocean splashdown options remain available if conditions do not support a catch.

After liftoff, the stack is expected to perform hot-staging around T+2:21, with the booster targeting a boostback, landing burn, and tower catch near T+6:35. Ship 42 is planned to reach a low Earth orbit of roughly 275 km, complete about 14 orbits around Earth, over a flight lasting more than 22 hours.

The Ship will deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites. Each of these satellites is designed to add about 1 terabit of capacity; the full batch is roughly equivalent to 10 Starlink V2 Mini Falcon 9 launches. Three of the satellites carry cameras to inspect the heatshield.

Following deployment and system checks, Ship is targeted for a deorbit burn and return, with a landing burn and catch near T+22:32 (around 22 hours later) if the vehicle is cleared as healthy.

Flight 14 in late September 2026 achieved Starship’s first orbital insertion and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, though the mission was shortened and ended with a Pacific Ocean splashdown. Flight 15 builds on that with the longer-duration profile and dual recovery goals. Preparations have included a full-duration 33-engine static fire of Booster 22.

Journalists from Cosmic Chronicles (@JaneidyEve) will be present at the launch viewing event and plan to share launch footage and coverage from their on-site perspective.

Schedules for Starship test flights remain dynamic and subject to change based on technical readiness, weather, and regulatory clearance.

Today, November 11, there’s thunderstorms in the Starbase to Brownsville, Texas, region. If the weather clears up by Friday and everything continues as planned, we will see another historic flight towards humanity’s goal to make life multiplanetary!

Ad Astra!!!

Author’s note: Thanks for reading Cosmic Chronicles. Write your thoughts in the comment section below. If you have story suggestions or feedback, Direct Message me on social media 𝕏: Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo @JaneidyEve. Read the most recent stories featured below. Thank You.