SpaceX's Starship Flight 15 delayed by a day, now likely to launch on November 13

The next integrated test flight of SpaceX Starship seems to have been delayed by a day, according to a CADENA presentation, and is now being targeted no earlier than November 13. The same was reportedly confirmed by Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX’s VP of launch.

Flight 15 will be SpaceX’s most important mission to date, as it is aiming to catch both stages of Starship using the ‘Mechazilla’ launch tower’s chopstick arms. If successful, Starship would be the first orbital rocket to be fully recovered after launch. Preparations seem to be going well for the upcoming launch, as static fire tests of both Ship 42 and the Super Heavy Booster have been completed. 

SpaceX also seems to be preparing in parallel for Starship’s 16th test flight, which will be the first to launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida. According to NASA Spaceflight, Flight 16 vehicles have completed their cryo testing at Starbase, Texas, and will soon undergo static fire tests of their own. Once this is complete, they will be shipped to Cape Canaveral for a historic first launch from the site. SpaceX is developing two launch pads at Launch Complex 37 and may be authorized to carry out up to 76 Starship launches and 152 landings annually from there, per the Federal Aviation Administration. Earlier today, SpaceX also completed a full water deluge test at Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. 

Starbase, Texas, however, will remain the prime location for Starship missions, at least for the foreseeable future. Last month, SpaceX reportedly submitted a proposal for 456 annual launches and up to 912 annual landings at Starbase—significantly higher than the current approval for 25 launches and twice as many landings. The company is also investing $100 billion to build a new Starbase in Louisiana, which, according to CEO Elon Musk, will see up to 10,000 Starship launches by 2035. The first Starship will fly from Louisiana in 2028 and 2029, and it will eventually have as many as 30 launches per day. Musk has said that Starbase Louisiana will have 20 or more launch towers to enable such launch cadence. 

During the Q3 2026 Financial and Operational Results event last month, SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell also said a Starship upper stage will refly by early 2027, and an on-orbit refueling mission is also scheduled for next year. Musk, on the other hand, shared that Starship will start to fly weekly in the first half of 2027. These ambitious timelines by Musk must be taken with a pinch of salt, as Starship is several years behind schedule on major milestones such as orbital refueling and catching the upper stage. Even the launch cadence remains fairly low, with just three Starship missions this year. In September 2024, Musk had said that Starship would start flying to Mars in 2026, but SpaceX has shelved its Mars plans for now and pivoted to establishing a city on the Moon. 

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