The US Federal Aviation Administration granted SpaceX a license for the 15th Starship test flight just 3 hours and 45 minutes before the scheduled launch. This marks the latest issuance of a flight permit in the program's history, removing the final regulatory hurdle for the mission.
SpaceX intends to attempt a dual recovery of both the Super Heavy V3 booster and the Starship spacecraft using the Mechazilla launch tower. While the company has previously captured earlier versions of the booster, this will be the first attempt for the V3 modification.
The spacecraft is equipped with 26 Starlink V3 satellites, which are expected to increase network capacity by 26 Tbps. Three of these satellites feature cameras designed to monitor the heat shield during atmospheric reentry to help engineers assess tile integrity after the flight.
The mission profile includes reaching an orbit of approximately 275 km and completing about 14 revolutions over 22 hours. The recovery of both stages depends on the confirmation of system health by mission control. The launch is set for November 13 at 16:45 Texas time.
