The next launch of the world's largest rocket is expected to last nearly an entire day, and you can watch it all.
Once again, SpaceX has big plans for its Starship rocket as it aims to get it off the ground on its 15th overall mission from South Texas.
For the second time in a row, the objective is for Starship's upper stage, the section that flies in space, to soar high enough to orbit Earth. After the vehicle potentially circles Earth for nearly a full day, SpaceX will then attempt for the first time ever to fly the upper stage back to the Texas launch site and nab it out of the air.
Pulling off the feat would mark a significant step in SpaceX's quest to develop the rocket to be fully reusable – meaning both the lower stage booster and upper
stage vehicle can fly multiple times. Ahead, Starship is due to be central to U.S. spaceflight, including NASA's Artemis moon landings.
Here's how to watch live as SpaceX launches its Starship rocket today (Nov. 13.)
What is Starship?
SpaceX, which tech mogul Elon Musk founded in 2002, is developing Starship to be a fully reusable transportation system, meaning both the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions.
Reaching 407 feet tall when fully stacked, Starship is regarded as the largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever developed. The rocket is composed of both the 236-foot lower stage booster known as Super Heavy that provides the initial burst of thrust at liftoff, and a 171-foot upper stage that flies in orbit.
The third and latest prototype of Starship, known as Version 3 (V3) is still undergoing test flights as SpaceX races to have it ready for NASA's Artemis lunar landings and Musk's own dreams of crewed trips to Mars. Starship is also central to SpaceX's plans of expanding its Starlink satellite internet business.
When is Starship flight 15?
SpaceX is working toward a Friday, Nov. 13 launch of its massive Starship rocket, the company announced. The launch window opens from 5:45 to 7 p.m. ET, with the rocket getting off the ground at SpaceX's Starbase company town and headquarters in Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Ship 42 moves to the Starbase pad ahead of launch pic.twitter.com/pMUFTHneJQ
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 13, 2026
Because the mission would be Starship's 15th flight test since April 2023, SpaceX refers to it as "flight 15."
How to watch SpaceX livestream of Starship launch
SpaceX will provide a live webcast of the entire mission, expected to last nearly a fully day, on its website and social media site X. Coverage will begin about 30 minutes before liftoff and continue until the upper stage vehicle potentially returns to and is recovered at the launch site.
Along the way, three of the 26 Starlink satellites Starship plans to deploy will transmit imagery down to Earth with a suite of modified camera. As SpaceX puts it, that means "the potential for hours of live views from Starship as it orbits Earth."
But the company also includes a warning: "As is the case with all launches, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change," SpaceX wrote.
What is SpaceX planning for Starship's 15th flight? A double catch test
For its 15th flight test, Starship is due to reach orbit for the second time in a row and deploy 26 operational Starlink satellites that will reside closer to Earth's atmosphere and serve customers. If all goes to plan, Starship could spend nearly a day orbiting Earth up to 14 times at about 171 miles high before it lands.
Within seven minutes of the launch, the Super Heavy booster is due to seperate from the rest of the rocket and land back at Starbase, where a giant tower known as "mechazilla" will catch it with mechanical arms known as "chopsticks." SpaceX has caught returning boosters during three previous flight tests between October 2024 and March 2025.
About 22 hours after liftoff, the upper stage of Starship, dubbed Ship 42, is due to attempt to also return to Starbase for what is widely being referred to as a double, or dual, catch. Not only has SpaceX never recovered both stages of a Starship rocket at Starbase during the same flight test, but it has yet to even attempt to catch a returning upper stage at the launch tower at all.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SpaceX's next Starship launch could last a day, and you can watch it all
