SpaceX Aborts Starship Flight 15 Booster Recovery After Technical Issue

Flight 15 Launch and Booster Abort

SpaceX launched the 15th uncrewed flight of its Starship spacecraft from Starbase in southern Texas on Friday, November 13, 2026. The 124-meter (407-foot) rocket lifted off from Pad 2, with all 33 Raptor engines firing as planned for the ascent.

The company planned to use "chopstick"-arm technology to recover the Super Heavy booster shortly after the two stages separated. That maneuver was aborted shortly after launch, according to a video livestream provided by the company. The booster was diverted to the Gulf of Mexico instead.

SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot initially said a guidance issue appeared to be the cause. In a later update, Huot said the booster's Guidance and Navigation Control system triggered the abort after detecting the booster was not in the place it was supposed to be to proceed with a catch, and that the system was doing what it was supposed to do. SpaceX said it is still investigating the root cause.

The booster momentarily hovered in the air before its flight termination system activated, resulting in an explosion a short distance over the sea surface. One engine dropped out after stage separation, and 32 of the 33 booster engines were lit for the boostback burn.

Upper Stage Reaches Orbit

Despite the booster loss, the Starship upper stage, Ship 42, reached orbit approximately 27 minutes after launch. The vehicle completed an orbital insertion burn and entered a low orbit at around 275 kilometers altitude.

Starship Flight 15 carried 26 Starlink V3 satellites to orbit. The vehicle began releasing its cargo about 36 minutes into the flight in a payload-delivery operation expected to take less than an hour to complete.

SpaceX plans to attempt the first-ever recovery of the Starship spacecraft on Saturday after more than 22 hours in space. The spacecraft is expected to circle the Earth 14 times before returning to the launch site, where it will attempt to descend between two giant mechanical arms. SpaceX said it would proceed with the recovery attempt only if the spacecraft passed a series of system checks and safety requirements.

Context and Background

SpaceX has previously returned the 236-foot Super Heavy booster three times to its launchpad after sending Starship to space, with the last such "tower catch" in March 2025. The company has never recovered the Starship spacecraft in this manner.

NASA has helped fund Starship's development with roughly $3.2 billion paid to SpaceX since selecting the rocket ship in 2021 to serve as a lunar lander for its astronauts under the Artemis moon program. SpaceX has put at least $15 billion of its own funds into the rocket's development. NASA and SpaceX expect Starship to land humans on the moon by 2028, though several major testing objectives remain.

Why it matters

• SpaceX aborted booster recovery during Starship Flight 15 after a technical problem, diverting the Super Heavy booster to the Gulf of Mexico.
• The Starship upper stage reached orbit and carried 26 Starlink V3 satellites.
• SpaceX plans to attempt the first-ever recovery of the Starship spacecraft on Saturday.
• A successful recovery would mark a breakthrough in fully reusable rocket development.

Sources

• france24.com: Elon Musk's SpaceX aborts booster recovery due to technical issues - France 24
• nbcnews.com: SpaceX launches 15th Starship flight; aborts booster recovery maneuver
• techeblog.com: SpaceX's Starship Flight 15 Sends Upper Stage to Orbit After Booster Recovery Abort - TechEBlog
• tvcnews.tv: SpaceX Aborts Starship Booster Recovery, Still Eyes Historic Spacecraft Catch -
• sg.news.yahoo.com: SpaceX's Starship enters Earth's orbit, but booster catch aborted - Yahoo News Singapore
• tech.yahoo.com: SpaceX says Starship Flight 15 booster aborted 'chopsticks' catch due to guidance issue (video)

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.