So if Elon is saying 4-6 weeks then NET November 8 is probably more like the 20th.

PJYoung said:

---

So if Elon is saying 4-6 weeks then NET November 8 is probably more like the 20th.

---

https://elontime.io/?time=6&unit=weeks

and it makes a lot more sense that they're saying Flight 16 will be from Florida in 2027 if flight 15 gets pushed back into December sometime.

Sooo... About catching Booster and Ship for 15....

Unless I am missing something, they only have one operational tower currently. Well at least with deluge for protection.

Land booster on the tower, lower and remove with the booster and 10-13 hours later catch Ship on the same tower.

Will be interesting.

And it's been about 18 months since they caught a booster!

will25u said:

---

Sooo... About catching Booster and Ship for 15....

Unless I am missing something, they only have one operational tower currently. Well at least with deluge for protection.

Land booster on the tower, lower and remove with the booster and 10-13 hours later catch Ship on the same tower.

Will be interesting.

---

The chop sticks will catch the booster, lower it down to let the QD arm attach and evacuate any propellant, then can either swing it to the side or leave it in the launch mount and then rotate and catch the ship off to the side. My guess is for operational launches down the road, they will end up with a launch tower and a catch tower. The catch tower will catch ships and lower them down for refurbishment and payload reloading, while a ship with a payload ready will be loaded onto the returned booster at the "launch pad". It will definitely be an intricate dance, but keep in mind that the vehicle weights upon return are not requiring anywhere near the thrust of a fully loaded liftoff, and they are being caught up in the air away from the launch mount, so they won't need full deluge protection.

Plus boosters will always be back in a few minutes. Ships will always be hours to days depending on mission and orbit.

Did I hear correctly that Ship's battery life is about 48 hours?

Maximus_Meridius said:

---

Did I hear correctly that Ship's battery life is about 48 hours?

---

Currently, I believe so. Yes.
That was the published limitation on flight 14. Battery power for onboard systems

will25u said:

---

Sooo... About catching Booster and Ship for 15....

Unless I am missing something, they only have one operational tower currently. Well at least with deluge for protection.

---

I haven't heard anything, but I'd bet tower 1 is at the point where it could catch a booster or ship without putting tower 2 at risk. You don't need deluge for that.

PJYoung said:

---

And it's been about 18 months since they caught a booster!

---

I heard that and it still seems like it hasn't been that long.

I think they do use some water during catch on this tower design.

Kenneth_2003 said:

---

I think they do use some water during catch on this tower design.

---

I think they do for booster catch, but I am not sure they do for the ship catch. Which makes me think they might just drop the booster down into the launch mount after catch and deprop.

Kenneth_2003 said:

---

I think they do use some water during catch on this tower design.

---

I don't know. Seems to me that has the potential to mess with its steering control. But if they've been doing that it must work.

They've never caught with this tower/deluge system. But I think i heard somewhere about using some (much less) water for catch.

Kenneth_2003 said:

---

They've never caught with this tower/deluge system. But I think i heard somewhere about using some (much less) water for catch.

---

During the last flight, as the booster was landing offshore, the top deck deluge system triggered, simulating a booster catch. I think the reason it uses less water is that they are only firing the top deck deluge, not the flame diverter trench one.

Gotta figure at some point the benefit of middle no where Louisiana will be noise abatement.

Why Is Catching Starship Harder Than Catching Super Heavy?

SpaceX's Super Heavy booster has demonstrated a tower catch, but recovering Starship presents a much more demanding engineering challenge. The difference isn't just the size of the vehicles — it's the physics of their… pic.twitter.com/iF6isMWDos

— Rocketry (@SpaceNews92) October 13, 2026

will25u said:

---

Why Is Catching Starship Harder Than Catching Super Heavy?

SpaceX's Super Heavy booster has demonstrated a tower catch, but recovering Starship presents a much more demanding engineering challenge. The difference isn't just the size of the vehicles — it's the physics of their… pic.twitter.com/iF6isMWDos

— Rocketry (@SpaceNews92) October 13, 2026

---

Based on their last 3-4 Starship flights, I would say they have nailed the landings. The V3 booster catch will be dicier than the Ship catch based on the last few flights.

Yeah I mean they landed one ship so softly it stayed intact after falling over

Meanwhile booster is still 50/50 on hitting the Gulf at speed or actually lighting enough raptors to hover. Ship is also the one that HAS to land safely for man rating to work. Booster is still "nice to have"

Decay said:

---

Yeah I mean they landed one ship so softly it stayed intact after falling over

Meanwhile booster is still 50/50 on hitting the Gulf at speed or actually lighting enough raptors to hover. Ship is also the one that HAS to land safely for man rating to work. Booster is still "nice to have"

---

I think flight 14 landed the same, but they supposedly triggered the flight termination system to blow it up.

will25u said:

---

Savannah, GA

---

What is this ? Starship ?

What was that light? SpaceX launch lights up skies across several states https://www.kbtx.com/2026/10/13/what-was-that-light-spacex-launch-lights-up-skies-across-several-states/

Very cool

Roadster event streaming live this Thursday at 7:55pm CST pic.twitter.com/AbsmpVucui

— Tesla (@Tesla) October 14, 2026

Sort of SpaceX related.

txags92 said:

---

Decay said:

---

Yeah I mean they landed one ship so softly it stayed intact after falling over

Meanwhile booster is still 50/50 on hitting the Gulf at speed or actually lighting enough raptors to hover. Ship is also the one that HAS to land safely for man rating to work. Booster is still "nice to have"

---

I think flight 14 landed the same, but they supposedly triggered the flight termination system to blow it up.

---

Booster is way closer to 100% than 50/50 and yes the FTS is what blew it up last launch.

SPCX has been ripped over starshield recently in some quarters online, and the market has dipped a little on that but I don't think they've done anything with it really.

The actual facts about SpaceX in Ukraine:

- SpaceX is a private company with zero obligation to help Ukraine, yet it stepped up when governments dragged their feet.

- Starlink and Starshield are not the same. Starshield is under U.S. government control. That is who made last… pic.twitter.com/L8EYVxCHex

— samuel (@marsrepublica) October 14, 2026

In polish, but X will translate, basic explanation of the issues/claims/politics;

Zamieszanie wokół terminali Starlink na Ukrainie.

Od rana 14 pażdziernika 2026 r. niektóre ukr telegramy alarmują że "Elon Musk ograniczył Starlinki" w rezultacie miało rzekomo dojść do przerwania "wielu ważnych misji", jak rozumiem z wykorzystaniem dronów uderzeniowych. Temat… pic.twitter.com/Kumuxj5p33

— Thorkill (@Thorkill65) October 14, 2026

Dip to $153 is a good buying opportunity imho ahead of roadster stuff tomorrow.

Video of the “jellyfish” spotted during today’s Falcon 9 launch 🚀

The glowing “jellyfish” appears when a rocket lifts off right after sunset or shortly before sunrise. On the ground it’s still dark, but the Sun is already lighting up the upper atmosphere. It catches the… pic.twitter.com/Rdf9USL5Dj

— Black Hole (@konstructivizm) October 14, 2026

PJYoung said:

---

txags92 said:

---

Decay said:

---

Yeah I mean they landed one ship so softly it stayed intact after falling over

Meanwhile booster is still 50/50 on hitting the Gulf at speed or actually lighting enough raptors to hover. Ship is also the one that HAS to land safely for man rating to work. Booster is still "nice to have"

---

I think flight 14 landed the same, but they supposedly triggered the flight termination system to blow it up.

---

Booster is way closer to 100% than 50/50 and yes the FTS is what blew it up last launch.

---

Keep in mind, Flight 14 was only the 3rd flight of Version3 and Raptor 3. While visually both booster and ship were visually very similar to earlier units, from a systems and engineering systems they were essentially clean sheet designs.