Starship Flight 15 on 11/13 plans to catch both booster and ship

Commenters focused on Flight 15’s planned attempt to catch both the Super Heavy booster and Starship, alongside Starship’s deployment of 26 Starlink V3 satellites. The mission plan describes a roughly 22-hour flight, with the ship returning for a tower catch only if systems needed for reentry and landing are healthy. It also describes heatshield changes and satellite cameras intended to gather imagery of the tiles. One commenter asked whether catching the ship requires different tower hardware; another said the same chopsticks serve both vehicles. A commenter also wondered whether the long coast could make propellant boil-off a concern.

The sharpest disagreement concerned the 26-satellite payload. One commenter called it a disappointing half-load, speculating that SpaceX is limiting risk, testing the dispenser, coping with satellite supply, or unable to reach advertised capacity. Others saw a partial load as sensible while the rocket and V3 satellites remain under test; one noted that roughly 52 tonnes would still be among the heaviest orbital payloads ever launched. Another argued that unused capacity has a cost, while a critic suspected Starship’s real performance falls short of claims. Commenters also differed over SpaceX’s competitive position: one said Starship gives the company a commanding lead and raised concerns about monopolizing space access, while another dismissed persistent doubts about the rocket as outdated.