Ship 40 Returns to Starbase as Flight 15 Targets November
Ship 40 completed its journey back to Starbase this week, arriving at the Port of Brownsville on Oct. 7 after floating in the Indian Ocean and sailing halfway around the world. An overnight transit from the port to the Production Site on Oct. 10-11 marked the conclusion of its return.
Meanwhile, Ship 42, the vehicle slated for Flight 15, returned to Massey’s test site on the cryo proof testing stand on Oct. 9 for additional testing. A new FAA slide from an online planning conference posted Oct. 8 updated the targeted dates for upcoming Starship flights: Flight 15 from Starbase Pad 2 is NET November 8, and Flight 16, potentially from KSC 39A, is NET December 10.
A Raptor engine flex test was conducted at McGregor on Oct. 7.
Ship 42 Heads to Cryo Proof Testing at Massey’s Site
SpaceX’s ground operations focused on vehicle testing this week as Ship 42 returned to the cryo proof testing stand at Massey’s site for additional work ahead of Flight 15.
The facility continues to support Starship development as the company prepares for the next flight from Starbase Pad 2, now targeting early November.
SDA Tranche 1 Mission Marks 668th Booster Landing
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket early Saturday carrying 21 data satellites for the U.S. Space Development Agency’s Tranche 1 Transport Layer A mission. Liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California occurred at 12:39 a.m. PDT (3:39 a.m. EDT / 0739 UTC).
The mission used Falcon 9 first stage booster B1103 on its sixth flight. About 7.5 minutes after liftoff, SpaceX landed B1103 at Landing Zone 4, marking the 37th landing at LZ-4 and the 668th Falcon booster landing to date.
A launch attempt on Oct. 5 was halted by an auto-abort with 58 seconds remaining, triggered by “some off-nominal data on Stage Two.” The vehicle was lowered to a horizontal position for troubleshooting, and additional time was taken for “double checks on vehicle systems and range deconfliction.”
Earlier in the week, Crew-12 splashed down at 11:34 a.m. EDT on Oct. 8 off the coast of Los Angeles, completing a 237-day mission. NASA astronaut Jessica Meir has now logged 440 total days in space, placing her in NASA’s Top 10 for cumulative days in space.
Looking ahead, NASA and SpaceX are targeting 6:33 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, Oct. 13, for the 35th SpaceX commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. Loaded with more than 6,300 pounds of supplies, the Dragon spacecraft will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Starlink Mobile Secures Spectrum Deals as FCC Approves Gen2
SpaceX announced an agreement to acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum license portfolio of up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band. The company stated this “prime low-band spectrum addresses one of the key remaining technical gaps that will pave the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major mobile carrier in the US.”
The Federal Communications Commission also approved Starlink Mobile’s Gen2 constellation application this week, authorizing SpaceX to launch 15,000 satellites optimized for 2 GHz spectrum globally. The FCC authorized the full range of backhaul bands used by Starlink’s V3 broadband satellites, enabling them to operate with the existing Starlink gateway network.
Brazil’s telecommunications agency ANATEL voted to approve Starlink Mobile’s full 2 GHz access with global S-band priority. Starlink will deliver connectivity across American Airlines’ full mainline fleet, and the company is providing free service through November 10 to customers in areas of Panama impacted by earthquake.
At the end of September 2026, SpaceX deployed the first 26 Starlink V3 satellites. The company plans to operate up to 100,000 Starlink satellites and up to 1 million Starmind AI satellites.
Provider: SpaceX Date: December 31, 2026 Time: 12:00 AM UTC Vehicle: Starship
15th test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle and 4th flight of Starship V3.
Griffin Mission One
Provider: SpaceX Date: December 31, 2026 Time: 12:00 AM UTC Vehicle: Falcon Heavy
Demonstration flight of the Astrobotic Griffin lander and its engines, initially contracted for the cancelled NASA VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) mission. The vacated payload spot will now host the FLIP (FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform) lunar rover from Astrolab.
USSF-75
Provider: SpaceX Date: December 31, 2026 Time: 12:00 AM UTC Vehicle: Falcon Heavy
Classified payload for the United States Space Force
SpaceX HLS LEO Demo
Provider: SpaceX Date: June 30, 2027 Time: 12:00 AM UTC Vehicle: Starship
The Starship HLS pathfinder spacecraft in support of NASA’s Artemis III mission in Low Earth Orbit will be a Version 3 vehicle equipped with a docking mechanism, but with no crew cabin or environmental control systems on board. This Starship HLS will launch after the Artemis III Orion has launched into LEO aboard SLS, and has completed its demonstrations with Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander. Once docked, Orion and Starship will spend about a day connected for checkouts and testing.
NROL-86
Provider: SpaceX Date: June 30, 2027 Time: 12:00 AM UTC Vehicle: Falcon Heavy
Classified payload for the US National Reconnaissance Office
Flight 15 ×
Mission Details
TypeTest Flight
OrbitLow Earth Orbit
TargetEarth
15th test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle and 4th flight of Starship V3.
Agencies Involved
• SpaceX (Commercial)
Program: SpaceX Starship
The SpaceX Starship is a fully reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle under development by SpaceX since 2012, as a self-funded private spaceflight project. The second stage of the Starship — is designed as a long-duration cargo and passenger-carrying spacecraft. It is expected to be initially used without any booster stage at all, as part of an extensive development program to prove out launch-and-landing and iterate on a variety of design details, particularly with respect to the vehicle’s atmospheric reentry.
The second launch and landing pad of the full version of the combined SpaceX Starship and Superheavy booster. To be first used for launch in 2025 with version 3 of Starship and the Superheavy…
Demonstration flight of the Astrobotic Griffin lander and its engines, initially contracted for the cancelled NASA VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) mission. The vacated payload spot will now host the FLIP (FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform) lunar rover from Astrolab.
Agencies Involved
• Astrobotic Technology (Private)
Launch Provider: SpaceX
Commercial • United States of America • Founded 2002
The Falcon Heavy is a variant of the Falcon 9 full thrust launch vehicle and consists of a standard Falcon 9 rocket core, with two additional boosters derived from the Falcon 9 first stage.
The Falcon Heavy is a variant of the Falcon 9 full thrust launch vehicle and consists of a standard Falcon 9 rocket core, with two additional boosters derived from the Falcon 9 first stage.
The Starship HLS pathfinder spacecraft in support of NASA’s Artemis III mission in Low Earth Orbit will be a Version 3 vehicle equipped with a docking mechanism, but with no crew cabin or environmental control systems on board. This Starship HLS will launch after the Artemis III Orion has launched into LEO aboard SLS, and has completed its demonstrations with Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander. Once docked, Orion and Starship will spend about a day connected for checkouts and testing.
Agencies Involved
• SpaceX (Commercial)
Launch Provider: SpaceX
Commercial • United States of America • Founded 2002
The Falcon Heavy is a variant of the Falcon 9 full thrust launch vehicle and consists of a standard Falcon 9 rocket core, with two additional boosters derived from the Falcon 9 first stage.
Robo Chris is a collection of API calls, filters, and searches, bolted together with magic and love. He performs instructed information gathering on Canadian aerospace news ,daily broadcasts, weekly NASA and SpaceX reports, and monthly deep-dives on Rocket Lab, Blue Origin, the Canadian space industry, and the broader commercial spaceflight sector AND does a fair bit of writing too. Everything he creates gets submitted to editor-in-chief actual Chris for fact-checking, approval, and publication.
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