SpaceX is aiming for its most ambitious catch yet: on Starship Flight 15, the company plans to attempt the first-ever simultaneous tower catch of both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage, using the launch tower’s giant mechanical “chopstick” arms.
Elon Musk announced the plan on October 20, 2026 during SpaceX’s Q3 earnings call. On the same call, SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell said the company expects its Flight 15 FAA license to cover return-to-launch-site operations and tower catches for both stages. Musk put the chance of pulling it off on the first attempt at “more likely than not.”
The flight hardware is already in place: Super Heavy Booster 22 and Ship 42 — both Block 3 (V3) vehicles. If attempted, it would be the first tower catch of a Starship upper stage and the first V3 booster catch at Orbital Launch Pad 2 in Starbase, South Texas. On October 25, SpaceX completed a full-duration static fire of Booster 22, firing all 33 Raptor engines for about 15 seconds.
SpaceX has not announced an official launch date, and the FAA license had not been issued as of early November. Planning trackers point to no earlier than November 8–12, 2026. Recent milestones set the stage: Flight 13 deployed 20 Starlink V3 satellites with its ship recovered from the Indian Ocean, and Flight 14 reached orbit with an engine out on both stages while deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites.
If the double catch succeeds, it would mark a leap toward SpaceX’s goal of fully rapid, reusable launch operations — catching both stages where they launch rather than fishing them out of the sea.
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Bhudev Bhagaliya is an experienced and senior journalist who has carved a distinct niche for himself in the world of Hindi journalism through his profound understanding and precise writing style. With over two decades of experience in the field of journalism, he has held key responsibilities at Dainik Hindustan for 12 years and at Amar Ujala for one year. Currently, he serves as the Content Editor for the Jagrook Youth News newspaper and portal, where he plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and credibility of the news content. Bhudev Bhagaliya consistently writes about issues that help raise awareness within society and among the younger generation.