SpaceX Starship Flight 15

1. T-00:50:00

   Go for propellant load

2. T-00:36:33

   Booster fueling starts

3. T-00:34:13

   Ship fueling starts

4. T-00:21:40

   Engine chill

5. T-00:00:30

   Go for launch

6. T+00:00:00

   Liftoff

7. T+00:00:58

   Max-Q, peak aerodynamic pressure

8. T+00:02:22

   Hot staging: ship lights its engines and separates

9. T+00:02:27

   Booster boostback burn

10. T+00:06:35

    Booster landing burn

11. T+00:07:01

    Booster landing or catch

12. T+00:08:11

    Ship engine cutoff

13. T+09:28:52

    Ship reentry

14. T+09:50:30

    Ship landing or catch

Times are from Flight 14's published timeline, as listed in Launch Library 2. SpaceX hasn't published Flight 15's yet; this list switches to it once Launch Library 2 has it.

• What a catch is Confirmed by SpaceX

  Instead of landing on legs, Super Heavy flies back to the launch tower and hovers while two steel arms close around it under the grid fins. SpaceX did this with the earlier Version 2 booster on Flights 5, 7 and 8 in 2024 and 2025. No Version 3 booster has been caught yet, and no ship of any version has. via Launch Library 2

• Why the ship catch is the hard part Reported

  The ship comes back from orbital speed, so it has to survive reentry first, then flip from a belly-first fall to a tail-first burn in the last seconds, then fly to the arms. Every ship so far has done that flip over the sea and splashed down. Flight 15 would be the first to try it over land. If SpaceX is not sure of the ship on the day, expect it to splash down instead. via NASASpaceflight

• What Version 3 changed Reported

  Flights 12, 13 and 14 flew the Version 3 Starship and Super Heavy: a taller stack, Raptor 3 engines, and a ship that reached orbit for the first time on Flight 14 and released 26 Starlink V3 satellites. Flight 15 is listed as the fourth Version 3 flight and the first from Orbital Launch Pad 2. via Launch Library 2

• How to tell if it worked Expected

  A good flight has four checkpoints: a clean hot-staging at about two and a half minutes, the booster caught or splashed down where planned at about seven minutes, the ship through reentry with its flaps intact, and the ship caught or splashed down where planned. SpaceX calls a test a success when it learned what it set out to learn, so a lost ship can still be a useful flight. We say which checkpoints were met, not whether it was a success.

• When Reported

  Launch Library 2 lists Flight 15 for the fourth quarter of 2026 with no day. News reports put it no earlier than November 8, 2026, pending the FAA license. The countdown on this page follows the launch database and updates as soon as it has a time. via NASASpaceflight

• Fourth Version 3 flight Reported

  Flights 12, 13 and 14 flew the Version 3 Starship and Super Heavy. Launch Library 2 lists Flight 15 as the fourth, from Orbital Launch Pad 2 at Starbase. via Launch Library 2

• Booster catch attempt Reported

  Elon Musk has said SpaceX is working toward catching the Super Heavy booster with the tower's arms. It would be the first catch for a Version 3 booster and the first at Pad 2. On Flight 14 the booster splashed down in the Gulf instead. via NASASpaceflight

• First ship catch attempt Reported

  Elon Musk has said SpaceX is also working toward catching the ship itself, which no Starship flight has tried. Every ship so far has ended in the sea. SpaceX hasn't confirmed the plan. via NASASpaceflight

• Ship reentry and heat shield Expected

  Every Starship flight test so far has brought the ship back through the atmosphere to test its heat shield and flaps. We expect Flight 15 to do the same, whether it ends in the sea or at the tower.

• Payload Not announced

  Not announced. Flight 14 released 26 Starlink V3 satellites into orbit; SpaceX hasn't said whether Flight 15 carries any.

As of October 19, 2026. "Confirmed" means SpaceX has said so; "reported" means news reports or the launch database say so; "expected" is our reading of earlier flights.