SpaceX planned Starship Flight 15 as a conditional return to Starbase after an orbital coast, with a tower-catch attempt for Starship as well as a separate planned recovery for Super Heavy. NeoTeo reported mission-clock marks of T+00:06:35 for Super Heavy and T+22:32:34 for Starship, placing the scheduled recovery points 22 hours, 25 minutes and 59 seconds apart. NeoTeo’s reported schedule put the earliest launch opportunity on November 13, 2026.
The two planned recovery marks
A mission-clock mark is elapsed time from liftoff. On the reported schedule, Super Heavy’s catch point came just over six and a half minutes after launch; Starship’s was set for more than 22 hours later.
| Stage | Planned mission-clock mark | Planned recovery event |
| Super Heavy | T+00:06:35 | Tower-catch attempt |
| Starship | T+22:32:34 | Return to Starbase for a tower-catch attempt |
Subtracting the scheduled marks gives a gap of 22:25:59. NeoTeo also reported a 75-minute launch window scheduled to begin at 4:45 p.m. Central Time on November 13, 2026, as the earliest opportunity; the schedule was subject to change and regulatory authorization.
Health checks came before the return decision
SpaceX’s described sequence began with a passively safe suborbital trajectory. Flight controllers would review the vehicle’s health and make a go/no-go decision before orbital insertion. If they proceeded, Starship would deploy Starlink V3 satellites, then coast in orbit for about 21 hours before lining up for its proposed return.
That coast and the roughly 22.5-hour launch-to-Starship-catch schedule use different starting points: the coast began after payload deployment, while the mission-clock mark counted from liftoff. Earlier, NeoTeo reported Super Heavy’s 33-engine static fire ahead of Flight 15, a ground-test milestone in preparation for the mission.
SpaceX’s plan called for manual and automated checks during the coast, covering engine health, power and communications, flight computers and navigation sensors, tanks and feedlines, tank pressure, and attitude control. The return to Starbase depended on the vehicle meeting SpaceX’s stated, FAA-approved criteria. The planned payload total of 26 Starlink V3 satellites was reported by NeoTeo; SpaceX’s account said three satellites were modified to image Starship’s heatshield.
The 21-hour coast began after payload deployment; the T+22:32:34 Starship mark counted from liftoff.
The proposed route and catch sequence
For the return, SpaceX described a route over sparsely populated areas of northern Mexico and southern Texas, approaching from the west north of South Padre Island before turning south toward Starbase over the Gulf of America. Four control flaps would steer Starship during reentry. At Pad 2, the proposed landing sequence used three sea-level Raptor engines, then two, then one, with the tower arms catching the vehicle on two fittings.
SpaceX also described alternatives at different points in the flight: an early abort toward a cleared area of the Indian Ocean; possible Pacific splashdowns around Hawaii or several hundred kilometers off Chile during the coast; a controlled breakup option during reentry; and, if a safe catch became unavailable late in the return, a diversion into the Gulf.
