Starship Flight 15 aims for a double catch; Flight 16 eyes Florida

SpaceX wants to close out 2026 with two more Starship flights, and both would be firsts. According to a detailed update from NASASpaceFlight.com, Flight 15 is aiming to catch both stages back at the tower, while Flight 16 could become the first Starship to leave from the East Coast.

Flight 15: two catches in one mission

The latest internal schedule seen by NSF lists Flight 15 for no earlier than November 8. Elon Musk has talked about a launch within four to six weeks, before US Thanksgiving, and confirmed the plan to catch the Super Heavy booster and the Ship. Boosters have been caught before, but recovering the upper stage too would be the first full recovery attempt and a step toward reflying Ships.

Before that, both vehicles still need static fires. Booster 22 reportedly has all engines installed and is waiting for its trip to Pad 2. Ship 42 was about to go for its test firing when its engines were removed and it went back for an extra cryogenic proof test instead. NSF links this, cautiously, to the vacuum Raptor that shut down early on Flight 14. Musk called that a software glitch confined to one engine's computer, not a hardware issue.

Flight 16: Florida debut

The next pair, most likely Booster 23 and Ship 43, is already in testing. Booster 23 finished a long cryo test this week and returned to Mega Bay 1 to receive engines. The December target fits SpaceX's goal of bringing Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center online before year end. The stages would travel separately by barge up the Banana River, then face propellant-loading tests and a booster static fire at the pad. NSF stresses that a lot of first-time work at 39A still has to go right.

Even if both missions fly, 2026 would end with only five Starship launches, a slow year that NSF attributes to the switch from Block 2 to Block 3 vehicles. That contrasts with SpaceX's long-term plans, including its request for up to 456 launches a year from Starbase. A working, reusable Starship also matters well beyond SpaceX, because NASA is counting on it to land astronauts on the Moon after the Artemis II flight. As always with Starship, the dates are targets and can move.