SpaceX Plans to Catch Both Starship Stages on Flight 15

SpaceX plans to try catching both stages of Starship on Flight 15, expected in November, testing whether its launch tower can recover the upper stage as well as the booster.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk outlined the plan during the company’s third-quarter earnings webcast Oct. 20. Ship is Starship’s upper stage, while Super Heavy is its booster. The plan calls for both to return to the tower for capture by its mechanical arms.

SpaceX has caught Super Heavy before. Its Jan. 16, 2025, Flight 7 mission marked the second successful booster catch at the tower. Flight 15 would be the first attempt to catch Ship and Super Heavy on the same mission.

Musk said catching both would mark the first full recovery of an orbital launch vehicle. He described success on the next flight as “more likely than not,” while cautioning that it was not guaranteed.

The attempt follows Flight 14’s first trip to orbit on Sept. 28, when Starship deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites. Ship splashed down in the northern Pacific, and Super Heavy made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

Flight 15 is expected in November; Musk gave no specific launch day.