SpaceX tests Ship 42 upper stage before November flight 15

Technology Oct 29, 2026

SpaceX just fired up the upper stage of its Starship (Ship 42) in a big prelaunch test, running all six Raptor engines and simulating a deorbit burn.

This sets the stage for Flight 15, coming up in November, where SpaceX is pushing to make space travel even more reusable.

SpaceX to test dual recovery

Flight 15 will try out a fresh recovery move, catching both the Ship and its Super Heavy booster at Starbase in Texas.

If it works, this could mean faster turnarounds between flights.

For context, their last flight not only made it to orbit but also dropped off 26 new Starlink satellites, another step toward SpaceX's goal of building massive satellite networks (think: global internet from space).