Starship Flight 15 dated for November 8 — with catching both stages on the table, and an analyst flag for the stock
From the Space digest for 2026-10-20
What happened: SpaceX's next Starship test flight is scheduled for November 8, 2026, subject to the usual weather and technical limitations — and the difference for this test is that SpaceX is looking to catch both stages, according to trade-press coverage on October 20. A first-ever catch of a Starship upper stage has been the standing ambition for Flight 15; catching booster and ship together on the same flight would be an escalation of it. Elon Musk then made it official late in the day: NSF relayed at ~4:40 PM ET October 20 his confirmation that SpaceX "will attempt to catch both the Super Heavy booster and Starship on the next flight, Flight 15" — CEO-level confirmation of the dual-catch profile the trade press had reported hours earlier. Pad-side, the Flight 15 booster's readiness work advanced: NSF relays reported a full deluge test at Pad 2 ahead of Booster 22 (~6:40 PM ET) with a second around ten minutes later. The same morning, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas released an investor note saying the Starship rocket's next launch could be a catalyst for SpaceX stock ahead of the company's Q3 earnings report. Starbase vehicle flow backs the November frame: NASASpaceflight trackers sketch a possible integration sequence in which Ship 43 (slated for Flight 16) comes first for potential chopstick tests, then Booster 22 (Flight 15), then Ship 42 — "joining forces for a November launch" — while Monday's production-to-pad road delay was cancelled, with a ship cryogenic stand now in the ring yard and Ship 43 possibly headed to the Massey's test site.
What's genuinely new: This is a development of the running Starship flight-preparation storyline, not a new thread — the ship-catch ambition, the November window, and the Starbase hardware lane are all established. The window's novelties are a printed test-flight date (November 8), the first dated report that the goal now extends to catching both stages, Musk's own same-day confirmation of the dual-catch attempt for Flight 15, the first observable Pad 2 deluge tests for Booster 22, a named analyst (Jonas) tying that flight to SpaceX's valuation, and the specific integration-sequence speculation at Starbase.
Watch: Whether November 8 holds; whether the dual catch actually attempts or reverts to a ship-only catch; further Pad 2 readiness tests for Booster 22; the Q3 earnings readout Jonas's note leans on; and the Pad 2 chopstick test schedule.
Links: advanced-television — Starship #15 scheduled for November with dual catch · MSN — SpaceX's Starship catch could unlock valuation upside, Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas says ahead of SPCX Q3 earnings · NSF — Starbase sunrise: Ship 43, Booster 22, Ship 41 sequence speculation · NSF — Prod>Pad delay cancelled, ship CRYO stand in the ring yard · NSF — Musk confirms dual catch of Super Heavy and Starship on Flight 15 · NSF — Pad 2 ready for Booster 22: full deluge test · NSF — second Pad 2 deluge test ~10 minutes later