SpaceX VP targets November 13 for Starship Flight 15

TL;DR: SpaceX VP of launch Kiko Dontchev said at the UP.Summit on November 5, 2026 that the company is targeting Friday, November 13 for Starship Flight 15, according to Eric Berger of Ars Technica. That is a SpaceX executive naming a day, but it is still a target, not an official countdown. SpaceX has not posted a Flight 15 mission page or an X update confirming the date.

What Dontchev said

On November 5, 2026, Eric Berger posted from the UP.Summit: "Kiko Dontchev of SpaceX just said at the UP.Summit that the company is targeting Friday, Nov. 13, for the launch Starship Flight 15." Dontchev is SpaceX's VP of launch. Berger's post does not quote Dontchev on a launch time, a window, or whether Flight 15 will attempt a ship catch.

Pad Zero's November 4 dispatch said Flight 15 still had no official date, with a reported no-earlier-than November 12 marker from air-traffic planning slides. Today's statement moves the public conversation from a planning-slide NET to a named Friday target from a SpaceX launch executive.

What is confirmed vs reported

Confirmed earlier on SpaceX channels (not restated as new today): SpaceX has already posted that both Flight 15 vehicles completed static-fire work in late October, including Ship 42's six-engine fire and a deorbit-burn simulation, and a full-duration 33-engine fire for the Super Heavy booster preparing for Flight 15. Those posts are covered in Pad Zero's November 4 Flight 15 dispatch.

Reported today: The November 13 target comes from Berger's on-site report of Dontchev's remarks, not from a SpaceX press release or @SpaceX post. Treat the date as reported.

Still open: Berger did not say Dontchev confirmed a double catch on this flight. Earlier reporting has linked Flight 15 to a first ship catch attempt after prior booster catches, but that profile still needs SpaceX's own confirmation for Flight 15. Pad Zero's launch manifest, synced from Launch Library 2, still lists Flight 15 as November 2026 with time TBD.

Why it matters

Flight 15 is the next Starship after Flight 14, which Pad Zero's site summarizes as reaching orbit in September 2026 and releasing 26 Starlink V3 satellites (reported). A named Friday target helps fans watch Starbase, even while the date can still slip for weather, range, vehicle readiness or regulatory timing.

What to watch next

• An official date, webcast link or mission page from SpaceX or @SpaceX.
• FAA airspace or maritime notices that lock a real window.
• Any SpaceX statement on whether this flight attempts a ship catch as well as a booster catch.

Launch targets for Starship move often. Prefer SpaceX's own posts on the day over summit quotes or tracker NET dates.