SpaceX targets a November 13 launch window for Starship Flight 15 from Texas, aiming to catch both rocket stages with launch tower arms.
The upcoming flight sets up a 75-minute window starting at 4:45 PM local time on Friday, November 13 in Texas, according to Space Wave Japan. For observers tracking in Japan Standard Time, the launch spans from 7:45 AM to 9:00 AM on Saturday, November 14. SpaceX plans to broadcast the event starting about 30 minutes before liftoff on its official page and on X, while Space Wave Japan arranges a simultaneous broadcast featuring Japanese commentary.
First Stage Recovery Maneuvers
Hot-staging occurs 2 minutes and 21 seconds into the flight, when the upper-stage Starship fires its engines while still attached to the first stage before immediate separation. The separated Super Heavy first stage will reorient itself, reignite its engines for a boostback burn to return to the launch site, and decelerate using a landing burn.
Catching the vehicle with the launch tower arms is planned for 6 minutes and 35 seconds following launch. While the older V1 successfully achieved recovery at the launch tower, Space Wave Japan reported that this flight uses the V3 first stage.
Satellite Deployment Begins
To reach Earth orbit, the upper stage cuts off its engines and subsequently reignites them 26 minutes and 10 seconds after liftoff. Flight controllers will verify vehicle status before proceeding with orbital insertion. Deployment for 26 Starlink V3 satellites is scheduled to begin 35 minutes and 1 second after liftoff, wrapping up at 1 hour, 17 minutes, and 40 seconds.
“The single biggest remaining problem for Starship? It's having the heat shield be reusable,” SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said on the Dwarkesh Podcast.
“The last two satellites deployed will scan Starship's heat shield and transmit imagery down to operators to test methods of analyzing Starship's heat shield readiness for return to launch site on future missions,” SpaceX wrote in a mission description, and three of the deployed satellites carry cameras designed to photograph Starship's heat shield.
Ground teams will use these images to decide whether the second stage can return to the launch site. The flight plan calls for the vehicle to orbit Earth roughly 14 times at an altitude of about 275 kilometers.
Alternative Landing Areas Considered
The flight control team will examine systems required for atmospheric reentry, the landing burn, and the final approach. Flight plans incorporate opportunities to select alternative landing areas in the sea, including early and late options near Hawaii and a middle option off the coast of Chile.
If the vehicle returns to the launch site, its engines will fire 21 hours, 35 minutes, and 57 seconds after liftoff to decelerate and adjust into an atmospheric reentry trajectory. Atmospheric reentry is scheduled for 22 hours, 10 minutes, and 46 seconds after liftoff, with engine ignition preceding the tower catch to establish a vertical orientation.
The targeted touchdown in the tower arms is set for 22 hours, 32 minutes, and 34 seconds after liftoff. This is the first attempt to recover an upper stage at the launch tower following Earth orbit.
