SpaceX now has a target date for its next big reuse test. Kiko Dontchev, the company’s vice president of launch, said SpaceX is aiming for Friday, November 13, for Starship Flight 15. He shared the date on stage at the UP.Summit on November 5, according to Ars Technica reporter Eric Berger, who was in the audience.
That date is a target rather than a promise. SpaceX has not yet posted an official mission page or a launch time. The FAA’s Starship page also does not list a Flight 15 license yet.
The flight matters because of what SpaceX hopes to bring home. Elon Musk said on the company’s October 20 earnings call that Flight 15 will try to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage with the launch tower’s mechanical arms. He called a successful ship catch “more likely than not.” SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said she expects the FAA license to cover a return to the launch site and a tower catch for both stages.
The booster half of that plan already has a track record. SpaceX first caught a returning Super Heavy with the tower’s “chopsticks” in October 2024. It has repeated that catch on later flights. The upper stage is a harder problem because it returns from orbital speed. No returning Starship has ever been caught by the tower. Every ship flight so far has ended over open ocean.
Flight 14 cleared the way for this next step. On September 28, Starship reached orbit for the first time. It then released 26 Starlink V3 satellites. One of its engines shut down early during the climb to space. The flight team chose to shorten the mission out of caution. The ship then made an on-target splashdown in the northern Pacific. Musk has said a successful ship catch would mark the first full recovery of an orbital-class rocket.
For Texas businesses, the payoff from reuse is practical. Rockets that can fly again can launch more often. SpaceX says each Starlink V3 satellite adds roughly ten times the capacity of the older satellites launched on Falcon 9. More capacity in orbit could make satellite internet a stronger backup connection for rural East Texas offices.
The November 13 date could still move for weather, hardware, or regulatory reasons. Even so, SpaceX is preparing to test full reuse rather than simply describe it.
Canton businesses that want a dependable backup plan for their internet connection can ask veteran-owned My I.T. Consultants in Athens for a Free Assessment. Call 903-675-5431 Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Want help with this at your business? See Cloud Services on our Services page or contact My I.T. Consultants.
Image: SpaceX (file photo — Flight 14 liftoff, not Flight 15)
