--- title: "Starship Flight 15: The Nov 13 Target and First Ship Catch" url: https://syntaxradar.com/radar/starship-flight-15-ship-catch-date author: "Abdul Rehman, Lead Systems Architect and Technical Director" publishedAt: 2026-11-10T05:00:00.000Z dateModified: 2026-11-10T05:00:00.000Z category: "#EMERGING-TECH" topic: "starship flight 15" primarySource: https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-15 summary: "Starship Flight 15 targets Nov 13, pending FAA approval. What the first ship catch attempt means, where the licence stands and what to watch next." --- # Starship Flight 15: The Nov 13 Target and First Ship Catch **Short answer:** SpaceX VP of Launch Kiko Dontchev named November 13, 2026 as the target for Starship's 15th flight, which would attempt the first tower catch of the ship and booster on one flight. The date is tentative and the FAA licence was not public as of November 10. **Takeaway:** November 13, 2026 is SpaceX's target for its first attempt to catch both Starship stages, but it is not a confirmed launch until the FAA licence is public. **Key figures (as reported by the source):** - Target date (pending FAA approval): Nov 13, 2026 - Earlier Super Heavy catches: 3 test flights - Ship return speed (Basenor): About 25x the speed of sound The Starship Flight 15 launch date and time, as of November 10, 2026: SpaceX is targeting November 13, 2026, but that is a target, not a confirmed launch, because the flight still awaits FAA approval. No launch time had been published in any report we checked. If it flies, SpaceX will try for the first time to catch both stages, booster and ship, with the launch tower's arms. The date came from Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX's vice president of launch, who named it at the UP.Summit conference on November 5, 2026, [according to Basenor's report](https://www.basenor.com/blogs/news/spacex-targets-nov-13-for-starship-flight-15-and-first-ship-catch). NASASpaceflight reported on November 6 that the two vehicles, Booster 22 and Ship 42, were in final checkouts, [as summarised by SpaceLaunchSchedule](https://www.spacelaunchschedule.com/space-news/starship-flight-15-a-dual-catch-attempt-awaits-faa-green-light/). Super Heavy, the booster, has been caught by the tower on three earlier test flights, while the Starship upper stage has splashed down in the ocean on its earlier flights, according to The Independent as cited by [NeoTeo](https://www.neoteo.com/en/spacex-plans-a-double-stage-catch-for-starship-flight-15). Elon Musk said on November 6 that a successful double catch would be the first time all parts of an orbital rocket return intact. ### When will Starship Flight 15 launch? The current target is November 13, 2026, and every report behind that date treats it as provisional. An FAA planning briefing known as CADENA lists November 13 as a tentative target, not a confirmed NOTAM window (a NOTAM is the formal airspace notice that warns pilots away from a launch area). That same briefing had earlier shown November 12, so the date has already moved by a day. The hardware is ready or close to it. NASASpaceflight says Flight 15 is expected to fly Booster 22 with Ship 42, and that both were in final checkouts as of November 6. They are the fourth pair of Block 3 vehicles, the newest generation of the rocket, which SpaceX also calls V3. The reports we used do not list what changed in V3. There is one more sign of progress. On November 9, RGV Aerial Photography, a group that films the launch site, reported a T-115 hour countdown. A scrub is a called-off attempt, and none had been announced in that report. The likely date is November 13, 2026 if the FAA signs off and nothing slips. Treat any date as soft until the airspace notice is confirmed. ### What time is Starship launching? As of November 10, 2026, no Starship Flight 15 launch time had appeared in the reports we checked, so any exact minute you see quoted online is not backed by those sources. SpaceX's [Flight 15 page](https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-15) is the place to look, though it showed no readable details when we opened it. The countdown narrows the day only. Our own arithmetic: 115 hours is 4 days and 19 hours. Counting forward from November 9 lands on November 13 or 14, depending on what hour the clock was read. That is consistent with the target, but it does not pin down a time. Once a time is published, check which time zone it is quoted in before you plan around it. A confirmed NOTAM window would also narrow things down, because it marks the hours the airspace is closed. ![Starship Flight 15 timeline from the Nov 5 date to the Nov 13 target](/uploads/blog/starship-flight-15-ship-catch-date/img1.webp) ### What is a Starship catch? A Starship catch is when a rocket stage flies back to its own launch site and the tower's two mechanical arms, nicknamed chopsticks, grab it out of the air. Instead of ending the flight in the ocean, the stage comes back to the same tower it left from. SpaceX has done this three times with Super Heavy. The upper stage is a harder case. Per Basenor, the ship returns from roughly 25 times the speed of sound, and it has to be slowed and steered back to the tower before the arms can take it. The FAA's environmental review of updated return-to-launch-site profiles at Boca Chica is complete. #### Starship Flight 15 objectives The Starship Flight 15 plan, as the reports describe it, has three firsts that stack on top of each other: - **First ship catch.** It would be the first attempt to catch the Starship upper stage with the chopstick arms, per Basenor. - **First V3 booster catch.** Everyday Astronaut's November 8 update says it would also be the first catch of a Block 3 booster. - **First double catch.** Both stages caught on the same flight, which is the result Musk described as all parts of an orbital rocket returning intact. If both catches work, that claim becomes a fact on the record. None of the reports we used describe a backup plan for a stage that cannot be caught. What a miss would look like is something to judge after the flight, from SpaceX's own account. ### Is Starship Flight 15 approved by the FAA? Not yet, as far as any public report shows as of November 10, 2026. The flight needs either a vehicle operator licence or an experimental permit from the FAA, and we found no report confirming that one has been issued. Part of the paperwork is done. NeoTeo reports that the FAA environmental review for the updated return-to-launch-site profiles at Boca Chica is complete. But that review does not itself authorise a flight. Think of the review as the FAA finishing its study of how those return paths affect the area, while the licence is the separate permission to actually fly. SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said the company expected its licence to cover return-to-launch-site and tower-catch profiles for both stages. As of October 23, 2026, the Flight 15 licence was not public, according to NeoTeo. That gap is why November 13 is still labelled a target. ![Starship catch count: three booster catches, no ship catch yet](/uploads/blog/starship-flight-15-ship-catch-date/img2.webp) ### SyntaxRadar calculation: the dates and speeds behind the target We worked a few numbers out from the reported facts. The inputs are shown so you can check them.
What we derivedInputs (from the reports)Result
Slip in the tentative dateNovember 12 to November 13, 2026 (FAA CADENA briefing, via Basenor)1 day
Announcement to targetNovember 5 (Dontchev at UP.Summit) to November 13, 20268 days
Gap to the next listed Starship dateNovember 13 to December 10, 2026 (FAA planning date for "Starlink 30-1 Starship")27 days
Rough ship return speedAbout 25 times the speed of sound x 1,235 km/h (sea-level speed of sound)About 30,900 km/h (about 19,200 mph)
Two caveats. The speed figure is approximate: the speed of sound drops with altitude and temperature, so "25 times" is a rough description of reentry speed. And the 27-day figure is only the space between two planning dates. The same FAA planning list shows New Glenn 4.1 on December 28, 2026; none of these dates are confirmed launches. What we checked: SpaceX's official Flight 15 page, which rendered no readable content when we opened it, and the public reports for any sign of an issued FAA licence, where we found none. That is why every figure above rests on secondary reports and is attributed to them. ### What to watch next The launch hinges on a short list of signals: - **The FAA licence or permit.** Until it is public, the date is a target. - **A confirmed NOTAM window.** This turns the tentative CADENA date into closed airspace with set hours. - **An official launch time** on SpaceX's Flight 15 page. - **Scrub calls.** The T-115 hour countdown reported on November 9 had no scrub announced; watch whether that holds. - **Both catches.** The booster catch has been done three times; the ship catch has not been done at all. - **The December 10 listing.** If Flight 15 moves, watch whether the later Starship planning date moves with it. If you follow SpaceX beyond launches, our explainer on [Starlink prices changing by location](/radar/starlink-prices-change-by-location) covers the consumer side of the same company. For another Musk company story with a date attached, our report on [whether the Cybertruck is discontinued](/radar/is-the-cybertruck-discontinued) covers the end of Texas output. And if you like dated launch guides, our [Zelda Ocarina of Time Switch 2 guide](/radar/zelda-ocarina-of-time-switch-2-guide) shows how we cover a fixed release day once it is confirmed. This post will be updated with the Starship Flight 15 catch results once SpaceX flies or moves the date. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the November 13 Starship launch date confirmed? No. As of November 10, 2026, November 13 is a target named by SpaceX's Kiko Dontchev. An FAA planning briefing lists it as tentative, not a confirmed airspace window, and the date already moved once from November 12. The flight also still needs an FAA licence or experimental permit, and no public report confirmed one had been issued. ### What is the Starship Flight 15 launch time? No launch time had been published in the reports we checked as of November 10, 2026. A T-115 hour countdown was reported on November 9, which points to the target day. Watch SpaceX's Flight 15 page and the confirmed airspace notice, and check which time zone any published time uses. ### What is the chopstick catch? The chopsticks are the two mechanical arms on SpaceX's launch tower. In a catch, a rocket stage flies back to the launch site and the arms grab it, instead of it ending the flight in the ocean. SpaceX has caught the Super Heavy booster this way on three earlier test flights but has never caught the Starship upper stage. ### Has SpaceX caught a Starship upper stage before? No. On earlier test flights the Starship upper stage splashed down in the ocean, according to The Independent as cited by NeoTeo. Flight 15 would be the first attempt to catch it with the tower's arms. Elon Musk said a successful double catch would be the first time all parts of an orbital rocket return intact. ## Source Based on NASASpaceflight, NeoTeo and Basenor reports. https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-15 --- Published on SyntaxRadar (https://syntaxradar.com). Canonical URL: https://syntaxradar.com/radar/starship-flight-15-ship-catch-date. Last modified 2026-11-10T05:00:00.000Z.