SpaceX Starship 15th test flight

SpaceX's Starship made its 15th test flight from South Texas, putting its upper stage into nominal orbit and deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites. The first stage diverted after an unspecified issue, leaving a possible upper-stage catch on Saturday.

Image from Illustration: Starship upper stage reaches orbit and deploys 26 Starlink satellitesIllustration

The story so far

SpaceX planned to launch Starship on its 15th test flight from Starbase in South Texas on Nov. 13, with a 75-minute window opening at 5:45 p.m. EST. The company intended to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage Ship with the launch tower's chopstick arms, a first for the pair. If all went to plan, the mission would last more than 22 hours, with Ship deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites before returning for a catch on Nov. 14.

Starship made its 15th test flight from South Texas and powered its upper stage into a nominal orbit, the second time it has reached low-Earth orbit. The vehicle deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites about 40 minutes into the flight, and all of them reached orbit. The first stage diverted to the Gulf after an unspecified issue, while SpaceX still has a chance to catch the upper stage on Saturday.

Latest updates

2 updates · newest first
  1. 14 Nov
    New development

    Starship upper stage reaches orbit and deploys 26 Starlink satellites

    SpaceX's Starship made its 15th test flight from South Texas and powered its upper stage into a nominal orbit, the second time it has reached low-Earth orbit. The vehicle deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites about 40 minutes into the flight, all of which reached orbit. The first stage diverted to the Gulf after an unspecified issue, and SpaceX still has a chance to catch the upper stage on Saturday.

    Ars Technica ↗CNBC ↗The Guardian ↗
  2. 13 Nov
    New development

    SpaceX aims for first double catch of Starship stages on 15th test flight

    SpaceX plans to launch Starship on its 15th test flight from Starbase in South Texas on Nov. 13, with a 75-minute window opening at 5:45 p.m. EST. The company will try to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage Ship with the launch tower's chopstick arms, a first for the pair. If all goes to plan, the mission will last more than 22 hours, with Ship deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites before returning for a catch on Nov. 14.

    Space.com ↗

Key facts

SpaceX planned Starship's 15th test flight from Starbase in South Texas on Nov. 13.Reported by Space.com
The launch window was 75 minutes and opened at 5:45 p.m. EST.Reported by Space.com
SpaceX aimed to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage Ship.Reported by Space.com
Starship's upper stage reached a nominal orbit, the second time it reached low-Earth orbit.Reported by Ars Technica, CNBC and The Guardian
Starship deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites about 40 minutes into the flight.Reported by Ars Technica, CNBC and The Guardian
The first stage diverted to the Gulf after an unspecified issue.Reported by Ars Technica, CNBC and The Guardian

What’s still unknown

Whether SpaceX will catch the upper stage on Saturday
What caused the first stage to divert to the Gulf

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