SpaceX plans first Starship double-stage catch on Flight 15

SpaceX plans to attempt a first tower catch of both stages of its Starship rocket on Flight 15, targeted for November 2026, Elon Musk said during the company’s October 20 earnings call. The attempt would include the Super Heavy booster and Starship’s upper stage, known as Ship, but Musk said success is not guaranteed. The plan would test recovery of the complete two-stage launch system. SpaceX aims to steer both vehicles back to the launch tower, where mechanical arms, nicknamed chopsticks, would catch them. The company showed a simulation of Ship’s planned recovery during the earnings-call livestream. SpaceX has caught Super Heavy on three of four catch attempts, according to reports of the company’s flight history. It has not yet tried to catch Ship, which travels higher, farther and faster than the booster. Musk said those characteristics make recovery of the upper stage more difficult. Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer, said the company expects Flight 15’s license to allow returns to the launch site and tower catches of both stages. She said SpaceX had engaged with the Federal Aviation Administration. The expected license provisions are not...