SpaceX is pressing toward two back-to-back Starship missions to close out 2026, with Flight 15 targeted for November and Flight 16 aimed for December, according to the latest program updates. The schedule would bring the company's total Starship launches this year to five, a modest cadence shaped by the ongoing transition between Block 2 and Block 3 vehicles even as SpaceX continues to project hundreds of launches per year from Starbase over the longer term.
Flight 15 carries a No Earlier Than date of November 8, based on the most recent CADENA slide update. Hitting that window requires both the Super Heavy booster and the Ship to complete static fire tests, a major pre-launch milestone. Ship 42 had been nearing its trip to Massey's for that test when its engines were removed, and the vehicle instead made a short additional trip to the test site for a cryoproof. The engine removal may be connected to the Raptor Vacuum shutdown observed during Flight 14.
Elon Musk has described that shutdown as a software failure isolated to the engine computer on that specific unit. In an interview, he said the problem did not appear on any of the other engines and called it a glitch that is not a major concern and should be straightforward to resolve. Because the sea-level Raptors did not show the same software problem, SpaceX remained confident those engines would perform as expected and proceeded with the orbital attempt. That points away from a broader engine hardware issue, though it does not fully explain why the engines were later removed from Ship 42.
Musk also discussed the volume of changes between flights, noting that the number can range from hundreds to thousands, consistent with figures previously cited by the company. He indicated that the current campaign involves fewer modifications than some earlier ones, although certain updates still require substantial work. Those changes may help explain the engine removals. Modifications inside Ship 42 could have required an additional cryogenic proof test, which in turn meant pulling the engines. SpaceX may also have wanted to validate software updates on the engines at its McGregor facility, although no such testing has been publicly observed there yet.
Booster 22 is believed to have all of its engines installed and is awaiting transport to Pad 2 for its own pre-launch static fire. Source information indicates the move could occur within days, with road closure notices expected to provide the first public confirmation. Musk has said Flight 15 is targeted for launch within the next four to six weeks, before Thanksgiving, aligning with an early-to-mid November window. He confirmed that SpaceX intends to attempt catches of both the Super Heavy booster and the Ship. A successful dual catch would mark the first full recovery attempt of a Starship vehicle and open the door to subsequent milestones, including the first reflights of a properly recovered Ship.
Current activity points to Booster 23 and Ship 43 as the likely vehicles for Flight 16, with both well into preparations. Ship 43 is inside Mega Bay 2 and was seen welcoming Ship 40 back to Starbase after its return from an ocean landing half a world away. The view showed Ship 40 entering the facility to be greeted by three Ships in total: Ships 42, 43, and 44. Booster 23 has already begun pre-launch testing with a trip to Massey's for cryoproofing. The testing concluded over the weekend with a Sunday morning trip back to Mega Bay 1 for engine installation.
Although Musk suggested that the next flight could involve the vehicles caught on Flight 15, Flight 16 is more likely to proceed without waiting for the full series of post-catch checks on those vehicles. That is particularly relevant if the mission is intended to serve as the first Starship launch from the East Coast. Source information currently links Flight 16 to the goal of bringing Launch Complex 39A online before the end of the year, and the December target is consistent with that objective. Plans remain subject to change depending on the outcome of Flight 15 and SpaceX's operational priorities.
Both vehicles would need to be shipped individually to Kennedy Space Center aboard You'll Thank Me Later, the transport barge that is now in full operation. It most recently delivered a Ship transport stand and the Starlink loader from Starbase to KSC. The transport would see both vehicles arrive, individually, up the Banana River into the KSC turn basin, following the same route previously used by Space Shuttle External Tanks and SLS Core Stages aboard NASA's barge Pegasus. Once offloaded, they would be rolled to SpaceX's Roberts Road facility, where the new Gigabay is expected to have two bays available for checks before the vehicles are moved to 39A for testing. At the pad, the booster would undergo a series of propellant loading tests to confirm that 39A's Starship infrastructure is ready to support its first launch, culminating in a static fire.