Starship Flight 15 testing is done, with the first ship catch awaiting FAA approval
From the Space digest for Oct 30, 2026
What happened: SpaceX has wrapped the static-fire campaign for Starship Flight 15 — NASASpaceflight reports three static fires in three days, completing all engine testing for the flight in eight days — clearing Booster 22 and Ship 42 for the launch expected in November. The flight's headline maneuver is the first-ever attempt to catch both Starship stages, and per coverage of the campaign carried by MSN that first ship catch attempt is now awaiting FAA approval.
What's genuinely new: the engine-testing campaign is formally complete and the last gate for the flight's defining maneuver has a name — FAA approval for the ship catch, a regulatory step on top of the flight's own scheduling.
Watch: FAA approval for the catch attempt, and whether Flight 15 flies in November on the hardware now cleared.
Links: NASASpaceflight · MSN · Oct 30, 5:53 PM ET