SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirms Flight 15 will be caught; Flight 14 to launch on September 22, 2026

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the company intends to catch its fifteenth Starship orbital flight test, designated Flight 15. This milestone represents a significant step in SpaceX's ambitious program to develop a fully reusable rocket system capable of interplanetary travel. The company aims to recover both stages of the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage, a feat that has been a primary objective since early flight testing.

Flight 14 of the Starship program is scheduled for launch on September 22, 2026. Catching the vehicles after launch is crucial for SpaceX's stated goal of rapid reusability, which is intended to drastically reduce the cost of space access and enable the scaling of operations. Previous tests have focused on achieving orbital velocity, atmospheric reentry, and controlled descents, with incremental progress made towards full recovery and reuse.