Zorg Empire

If I send ships out on a FS then later recall can they still be phalanx if sent from planet and not moon?

Yes. The only way a fleet is un-lanxable is if the mission involves a moon.

so if you send a fleet from a planet to a moon on a deploy mission it can't be caught on phalanx? or does it have to be moon to moon?

Any mission that is launched from or that will land on a moon cannot be phalanxed.