Starship’s most recent test flight sent the SpaceX megarocket to orbit for the first time, marking a major technical milestone that will pave the way for commercial viability. Still, that road remains long and arduous, and Starship’s next test will be even more challenging.

During SpaceX’s third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, CEO Elon Musk said the company will attempt to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the upper stage during the next test flight, slated for no earlier than November 8. While SpaceX has successfully caught the booster three times before, this will be the first attempt to catch the upper stage.

If all goes according to plan, Flight 15 “will be the first time that an orbital launch vehicle has been fully recovered,” Musk said. “The only way that we can extend consciousness beyond Earth on a sustained basis is with a fully reusable orbital launch vehicle. So this is, I think, a profound technology milestone in the history of civilization and consciousness.”

During the earnings call, SpaceX presented a Flight 15 simulation, opening with views of one of the two “Mechazilla” launch and catch tower systems at Starbase in South Texas. These massive structures are equipped with “chopstick arms” designed to catch a returning booster or upper stage.

The video of the simulation then pans up to show an upper stage, which SpaceX calls “Ship,” falling back to Earth in a horizontal “belly flop” position, presumably having completed an orbital flight. Before reaching Mechazilla, Ship performs a short burn to reduce its speed and flip upright into a vertical tower catch position.

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