SpaceX plans to launch the 15th test flight of its giant Starship rocket on Friday, Nov. 13, and for the first time it will try to catch both the booster and the ship with the launch tower’s mechanical arms when they come home.
If it works, SpaceX says, it will be “the first full recovery of an orbital launch system and a breakthrough moment in making Starship a reliable, rapidly reusable rocket.”
How SpaceX will try to catch both rocket parts? https://t.co/mbbY38mVao
— Muskonomy (@muskonomy) November 11, 2026
What is planned
The launch window opens at 5:45 p.m. Eastern time, 4:45 p.m. in Texas, and runs 75 minutes, pending regulatory approval. The rocket will lift off from SpaceX’s Starbase site in South Texas. Space.com describes the full stack as the size of a 40-story building.
The Super Heavy booster is scheduled to separate about two and a half minutes into the flight, fly back to Starbase and be caught by the tower’s arms, which SpaceX fans call the “chopsticks,” about six and a half minutes after liftoff. This will be the first catch attempt for the new Version 3 booster. SpaceX has caught three earlier boosters, and two of those have flown again.
The ship itself will stay up much longer. SpaceX plans for it to reach orbit at about 275 kilometers, roughly 171 miles, and circle the Earth about 14 times over more than 22 hours. Then it will fire its engines to come down and, if all goes well, be caught by the same tower about 22 and a half hours after launch.
Satellites on board
Along the way, the ship will release 26 of SpaceX’s new Starlink V3 internet satellites. According to SpaceX, each one adds 1 terabit of capacity to the network, and the 26 together equal about 10 launches of the older satellites on a Falcon 9.
Three of the satellites carry cameras that will look back at Starship’s heat shield and send pictures to the ground. SpaceX says that data is one of several checks used to decide whether the ship is healthy enough to come home. The heat shield also carries improvements from the last flight, including extra tile retention and a curved tile design.
Safety first
SpaceX says the ship will only try to return to the launch site if flight controllers confirm the systems needed for reentry, the landing burn and the tower approach are working. The flight path is designed so that the ship can instead be brought down safely over the ocean at several points.
This builds on Flight 14 on Sept. 28, when Starship reached orbit for the first time, deployed satellites and splashed down in the Pacific about three hours after launch.
How to watch
SpaceX will stream the flight on its website and on its X account, @SpaceX, starting about 30 minutes before liftoff. The company says coverage is planned through the ship catch, with the possibility of hours of live views from orbit. As with every launch, the schedule could change, so check before you sit down to watch.
Why it matters
SpaceX already lands and reflies its Falcon 9 boosters routinely. Catching both stages of Starship would bring the company much closer to a giant rocket that can be refueled and flown again and again, which SpaceX sees as the key to cutting the cost of reaching orbit.
Whatever happens Friday, it is worth tuning in. Few things show off American engineering like a launch of this size, and families across the country can watch history being attempted live from their living rooms.