How the Starship tower catch works, and why Flight 15 tries to catch both stages
Quotable summary
SpaceX catches Starship’s Super Heavy booster with two mechanical arms (the “chopsticks”) on its launch tower. The booster flies back, slows with its engines and hovers into the arms. Flight 15, reported as no earlier than 8 November 2026, aims to catch both the booster and the Ship for the first time, a step toward a fully reusable rocket. Both Flight 15 vehicles finished their static fires between 25 and 27 October. Translation: the hardware is test-fired, but there’s no official date and no FAA license posted yet.
Where things stand (as of 29 Oct 2026)
| Item | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Target date | Reported NET 8 Nov 2026 from Starbase Pad 2, per SpaceX’s CADENA slide; no official date from SpaceX | NASASpaceFlight, 18 Oct |
| The plan | Catch both stages. Musk on SpaceX’s Q3 earnings call, 20 Oct: “I’d say it’s more likely than not that this succeeds next flight.” That’s a prediction, not a result. | Space.com, 20 Oct |
| Booster 22 static fire | Done: full-duration, 33-engine static fire on Pad 2, 25 Oct | Spaceflight News, 25 Oct |
| Ship 42 static fire | Done: single-engine burn (simulated deorbit burn) 26 Oct and full-duration six-engine static fire 27 Oct; SpaceX confirmed on X 28 Oct | Space.com, 28 Oct |
| FAA license | Not shown yet. The FAA’s Starship page lists no Flight 15 license or modification; Musk said the double catch depends on regulatory approval | FAA Starship page, Space.com, 28 Oct |
| Track record | 14 test flights; booster chopstick catches on 3 of them; no Ship catch ever attempted | Space.com, 20 Oct |
How the booster catch works
- Boostback: after stage separation, the booster flips and burns back toward the launch site.
- Entry and landing burn: it falls back and relights its engines to slow down.
- Hover: it slides sideways into position next to the tower.
- Arms close: the chopsticks close and the booster settles onto them.
Why catch it at all?
- No landing legs means less weight on the vehicle.
- The vehicle lands where it’s restacked, so turnaround can be faster. SpaceX wants to inspect, refurbish and refly Starship quickly (Space.com).
- Full reuse of both stages is the whole point of Starship’s design.
Why the Ship catch is harder
- The Ship comes back from orbit, so it travels higher, farther and faster than the booster (Space.com).
- Its heat shield has to survive reentry, and then it still has to hit the tower precisely.
What Flight 14 proved (28 Sep 2026)
- Ship reached orbit for the first time and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites (Space.com).
What’s next
- Flight 16 is aimed for December and could be the first Starship launch from LC-39A in Florida (NASASpaceFlight). That’s a company target, not a date.
FAQ
When is Starship Flight 15? It’s reported as no earlier than 8 November 2026. As of 29 October, SpaceX hasn’t announced an official date and no FAA Flight 15 license is posted.
Has SpaceX ever caught the Starship upper stage? No. Flight 15 would be the first attempt to catch the Ship.
What is “Mechazilla”? The nickname for the Starbase launch tower and its catch arms.
Why doesn’t Starship have landing legs? Weight and turnaround time. The tower does the catching, so the rocket doesn’t carry legs, and it lands right where it gets restacked.
Sources
- Space.com: SpaceX will attempt 1st-ever double Starship rocket catch on next test launch (20 Oct 2026)
- Space.com: SpaceX fires up Starship upper stage ahead of landmark Flight 15 test launch (28 Oct 2026)
- Spaceflight News: Full-duration 33-engine static fire of Booster 22 (25 Oct 2026)
- NASASpaceFlight: SpaceX working through Starship Flight 15 and 16 milestones (18 Oct 2026)
- FAA: SpaceX Starship Super Heavy Project at the Boca Chica Launch Site