At around 6:20 a.m. Japan time on November 15, 2026, SpaceX caught the upper stage of Starship, after it had orbited the Earth, at the launch tower in Texas that it had lifted off from, a first. On Flight 15, the upper stage released 26 communications satellites during a flight of about 22.5 hours. The Super Heavy first stage, however, diverted offshore partway through, so the original goal of recovering both stages was not met. Before the upper stage left orbit, SpaceX checked the vehicle using images from a satellite that photographed it, along with a check of the ground tower.
The same 26 satellites as last time; what changed was where the stage came back
On Flight 14 on September 28, 2026, one of the upper stage's vacuum Raptor engines shut down early during ascent. According to SpaceX's post-flight report, the remaining five engines burned longer than planned, and a subsequent burn put Starship into Earth orbit for the first time. After the satellites were released, the control team cut its time in orbit short and used one engine to bring the stage out of orbit. Just before splashdown, the upper stage flipped upright and came down in a pre-designated area of the North Pacific.
Flight 15 lifted off at 7:47 a.m. Japan time on November 14. SpaceX had said beforehand that the stage would circle the Earth about 14 times at an altitude of roughly 275 km, flying for more than 22 hours. The Associated Press reported that it did complete 14 orbits, and SpaceX photographer Eric Gay photographed the tower arms catching the upper stage on site.
Flight 14 and Flight 15 each sent 26 Starlink V3 satellites into orbit. The upper stage's destination changed from a North Pacific splashdown zone to the launch tower it had departed from.
| Flight test | Starlink V3 released in orbit | Upper stage destination |
|---|---|---|
| Flight 14 (Sept. 28) | 26 | Splashdown in a pre-designated area of the North Pacific |
| Flight 15 (Nov. 14–15, Japan time) | 26 | Caught at the tower in Texas |
The Flight 14 results are based on SpaceX's post-flight report. The number of satellites released and the catch on Flight 15 were reported by the AP, with on-site photographs, and Space.com's live coverage states explicitly that the 26 satellites released were V3. The deorbit and the attitude flip for splashdown had already been accomplished on the previous flight. What was added this time was the decision, from an orbit that also allowed a return over the ocean, to head for the launch site, and the process of guiding the upper stage to a position within reach of the tower arms.
Satellite cameras checked the heat shield before the return
The upper stage's return route could be chosen even before it entered orbit. In SpaceX's design, the stage first verifies the state of its propulsion, attitude and navigation on a suborbital trajectory from which it can head for a designated ocean area if something goes wrong, and then enters orbit with the next burn. Once in orbit, the reentry path varies depending on where and when the deorbit burn is performed. On Flight 15, SpaceX set up decision points that allowed alternate return sites off Hawaii early and late in the flight and off Chile in the middle.
Three of the 26 satellites released carried cameras that photographed the upper stage's heat shield. SpaceX had tried imaging the heat shield from satellites on past flights, and on Flight 15 it used satellite images and ground tracking-camera footage to decide whether the stage could return to the launch site. According to Space.com's transcription of the broadcast, SpaceX's Kate Tice explained that the team checked the heat shield, flaps and vehicle structure, confirmed the state of aerodynamics, guidance, navigation and control and the readiness of the launch tower, and then proceeded with the return to the launch site.
The heat shield carried over the added fasteners from Flight 14 and measures to keep hot gas from getting behind the tiles. The extra fasteners were placed where SpaceX judged tiles were most likely to come off during ascent. Even if the surface tiles stay on, hot gas getting in through gaps can expose the structure behind them to heat. On Flight 15, curved tiles that reduce heating in the gaps were used over a wide area of the heat shield.
The upper stage burned one Raptor engine for about 10 seconds to slow down for reentry. It reduces its forward speed slightly, lowering the altitude on the opposite side of its orbit and moving onto a path into the atmosphere. Most of the speed is shed afterward through atmospheric drag. During reentry, the air is compressed on the windward side of the vehicle and heats up. The upper stage points its heat-shield-covered side into the airflow to limit the heat transferred to the structure. The flaps catch the airflow to adjust the vehicle's attitude. At low altitude, it used its engines to flip upright and decelerate further, and when it was brought close to the tower, the two arms supported the vehicle. To the attitude flip demonstrated in the ocean splashdown was added guidance that ends the descent matched to the height and position of the tower arms.
The first stage diverted offshore after an alert
After separating from the upper stage, the new V3 Super Heavy began the burn to turn back toward the launch site. According to Space.com, SpaceX's Dan Huot cited a guidance, navigation and control issue as the reason for aborting the catch on launch day, but corrected this in the next day's broadcast, saying the system had worked as designed. Tice then explained that a low fuel mass alert appeared, and the burn to bring the first stage back was thought to have ended early. The guidance system determined that the vehicle was not in a position to be caught at the launch tower, automatically canceled the catch and switched to a path toward the Gulf of Mexico. The root cause of the alert is under investigation. The AP reported an explosion of the first stage and debris at sea.
Because the first stage returns right after launch, it uses its short post-separation flight to determine whether it is on a path that reaches the tower. The upper stage has room to choose the timing and destination of its return while in orbit, but in both cases the paths that lead out over the sea are decided in advance. Beyond the vehicle being able to switch paths in flight, it is also necessary to work out in advance which airspace will be cleared when each path is used.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a draft environmental review on July 13, 2026, took comments until August 3, and then published a final environmental assessment and record of decision. For upper stage operations, it reviewed the expansion and addition of backup splashdown areas in the Pacific, along with temporary airspace closures if a return route to the launch site is added. A separate final environmental assessment on launch site returns, completed in February of the same year, explains that hazard areas will reflect not only normal flights but also the risk from debris produced by reasonably foreseeable failures.
Until the recovered vehicle flies again
The heat shield that was checked in orbit images can now, because the upper stage was brought home, be examined behind the tiles, at the fasteners and at the joints with the vehicle. Looking at images before the return tells SpaceX whether the vehicle is in a condition to proceed to atmospheric reentry on that flight. After recovery, the team can inspect the parts that took the heat and loads and decide what has to be replaced before the next flight. How many tiles will be replaced on this upper stage, how much labor, time and cost refurbishment will take, and when the same vehicle will fly again are not stated in any available materials.
There is precedent for reflight in the first stage's older version. According to SpaceX, Super Heavy V1 was caught at the tower three times, and two of the recovered boosters flew again. With V3, the first catch of the first stage was pushed back. To reuse both stages repeatedly, operations will need to include time for inspecting and refurbishing the upper stage and first stage and for readying the launch facilities used for the catch for the next launch.
The interval between launches also bears on the lunar lander SpaceX is developing for NASA's Artemis program. In the concept NASA announced on October 23, 2026, multiple tankers would be launched to low Earth orbit, and cryogenic propellant gathered in a depot would be transferred to the lunar lander. NASA plans to demonstrate the procedure of collecting propellant in orbit with an uncrewed flight. Assembling multiple launches requires having the vehicles needed for each flight ready on schedule. The reflight of the upper stage that just returned, and the refurbishment time it takes in between, will be the first measure of how often the same vehicle can be assigned to the next flight.