Block 3 Vehicles Target Orbital Satellite Deployment
STARBASE, Texas — SpaceX entered the final 24-hour countdown on Thursday, November 12, 2026, for Starship Flight 15, targeting liftoff no earlier than Friday, November 13, at 4:45 p.m. Central Standard Time (22:45 UTC) from Orbital Launch Pad 2. Utilizing Super Heavy Booster 22 and Ship 42—nicknamed Don't Panic—the mission aims to achieve the first-ever launch tower catch of both stages during a single flight, designated as the fifteenth test launch and second operational mission of the heavy-lift architecture; Flight 15 represents the fourth flight pairing of upgraded Block 3 hardware.
Following hot-staging separation, Ship 42 is programmed to enter low Earth orbit, deploy 26 next-generation Starlink V3 broadband satellites, remain in space for more than 22 hours, and while orbiting, flight engineers will also evaluate docking hardware and hatch mechanisms essential for future orbital propellant transfer demonstrations. NASA's Artemis lunar lander architecture depends on Starship's ability to perform rapid orbital cryogenic refueling in low Earth orbit before dispatching astronauts toward the Moon.
SpaceX engineers outfitted Ship 42 with upgraded hexagonal ceramic heat shield tiles and reinforced aerodynamic flaps engineered to withstand blistering plasma temperatures exceeding 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit during hypersonic deceleration; following a controlled belly-flop descent over the Gulf of Mexico, the upper stage must execute a precision Raptor engine flip maneuver to hover beside Orbital Launch Pad 2's steel catch arms. Teams at Starbase are completing final propellant loading checks and thermal tile inspections ahead of Friday afternoon's scheduled launch window from Pad 2. Flight controllers at Starbase confirmed that final static-fire telemetry, flight termination system checks, and range safety clearances remain on schedule ahead of Friday's orbital launch window.
