Overview
- SpaceX announced on its Oct. 20 earnings call that Flight 15, targeted for next month, will try to have the launch tower’s mechanical arms catch both the Super Heavy booster and the Ship upper stage.
- Elon Musk said success is not guaranteed but described the odds as “more likely than not,” and SpaceX plans a steady cadence of follow-up flights if the first double catch fails.
- SpaceX showed an animation of the tower‑catch maneuver during the call and has rehearsed parts of the operation at Starbase, including lifting Ship 42 into a simulated catch position and cycling the tower arms.
- Company leaders say they have held 'significant constructive engagement' with the FAA and expect Flight 15’s license to permit return‑to‑launch‑site trajectories and tower catches, but final regulatory clearance remains unresolved.
- Flight 14 on Sept. 28 reached orbit and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites but lost both stages to splashdowns, highlighting the technical risks — most notably an upper‑stage engine shutdown and the higher reentry speeds the Ship must survive.