Watch: How SpaceX plans to catch both Starship & Booster on Flight 15

SpaceX showed a simulation of how it plans to catch both stages of Starship, the Super Heavy booster and the Ship upper stage, with the launch tower’s “chopstick” arms on Flight 15. Elon Musk announced the plan on SpaceX’s Q3 2026 earnings call on October 20 and said the flight is expected next month. If it works, he said, it “will be the first time that an orbital launch vehicle has been fully recovered.” Musk called success “more likely than not,” but said SpaceX has a steady stream of flights lined up if it fails. On the call, SpaceX reported Q3 revenue of $14.6 billion, up 161% from a year earlier, and net income of $4.4 billion, compared with a $1.1 billion loss in Q3 2025. Only about $1.8 billion came from launch. Most of the rest came from Starlink connectivity and AI. Musk said these segments could push SpaceX’s annual recurring revenue to between $500 billion and $1 trillion by the end of 2027. Video Credit: SpaceX