Starship November 13, 2026 · Starbase · Launch day

Flight 15 launch day: the window opens at 4:45 p.m. CT, and the FAA license is the last piece

SpaceX still lists Starship Flight 15 for today, Fri., Nov. 13, 2026, "pending regulatory approval," with a 75-minute window that opens at 4:45 p.m. CT. As of Friday morning, SpaceX had not received its FAA launch license, Reuters reported at 5:12 a.m. CT. Reuters said the FAA has typically issued licenses a day before past Starship launches and did not immediately respond to its request for comment.

• Why a new license: SpaceX plans to bring the ship back to Starbase for a tower catch, the first time it would return both Starship and Super Heavy to the launch site. The FAA's Starship page, last updated Tue., Nov. 10, 2026, lists no Flight 15 license as of 7:30 a.m. CT today.
• The beach: Boca Chica Beach and Highway 4 to the beach close 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. CT today and Saturday under Mayor's Order No. 2026-25. The city's road page lists no road delays today.
• Watching: SpaceX's webcast starts about 30 minutes before liftoff. Where to watch from: our launch viewing guide.

If it slips: the city's closure order already covers Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, too. Saturday's plan, with the ship catch, is in yesterday's story.

Also today: Starbase says "nobody is buying or selling Boca Chica Beach"

Starbase City Administrator Cayetana Polanco said in a statement that the proposed Texas Parks and Wildlife deal with SpaceX concerned land around SpaceX's launch site, "not the beach itself," the Texas Tribune reported Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. She said the city is not a party to the deal and sent questions to the department or SpaceX. A draft department agenda had listed the "disposition" of about 1,300 acres in Cameron County. The final agenda left it off, and it is unclear whether the commission will take it up later, the Tribune reported. Background: Gov.-elect Hinojosa's "no action" ask.

Around the world

United Launch Alliance now targets Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, from 12:32 to 1:01 p.m. ET (11:32 a.m. to 12:01 p.m. CT), to launch 40 Amazon Leo satellites on a Vulcan rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, ULA says. ULA calls it the first of 38 Vulcan launches for Amazon.

Sources: SpaceX, Starship Flight 15 · Reuters, Nov. 13, 2026 · FAA, SpaceX Starship · City of Starbase, Beach and road access · Texas Tribune via KSAT, Nov. 12, 2026 · ULA, Vulcan Amazon Leo

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