SpaceX's Starship Flight 15 booster aborted its tower catch due to a guidance issue and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, while the Ship upper stage reached orbit and is set to return Saturday.
SpaceX's Starship Flight 15 launched from Starbase, Texas, on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, at 5:47 p.m. ET (2247 GMT). The mission aimed to recover both the Super Heavy first-stage booster and the Ship upper stage at the launch tower for the first time.
The Super Heavy booster, called Booster 22, returned to Earth minutes after liftoff but did not return to the launch tower to be caught by the tower's metal "chopstick" arms. Instead, the booster aborted itself and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico about 6.5 minutes after liftoff.
SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot said during live commentary that the booster was initially "go" for a catch, but aborted itself for a GNC issue it detected. GNC stands for Guidance and Navigation Control. The booster steered itself to a contingency landing zone in Gulf waters, and the flight termination system triggered before it splashed down in the water.
All 33 Raptor engines fired as planned for the ascent. One engine dropped out after stage separation, leaving 32 of the 33 booster engines lit for the boostback burn. The guidance issue appeared to occur during the booster's landing burn, when it fires 13 Raptor engines to slow itself for its tower approach.
The Ship upper stage continued to orbit after stage separation. SpaceX completed a second engine burn lasting about 20 seconds that parked Ship in low Earth orbit at an altitude of around 170 miles (275 kilometers) at T+26 minutes and 10 seconds.
"We've got a nominal orbit insertion, so Starship now in orbit around Earth for the second time ever," Huot said during the launch webcast.
Ship carried 26 of SpaceX's Starlink V3 satellites, which were deployed into low Earth orbit on schedule over a 42-minute span starting 35 minutes after launch. Three of the V3 Starlinks were equipped with cameras to point back at Ship after deployment to analyze its heat shield tiles and other hardware.
Ship is scheduled to circle Earth 14 times, spending more than 21 hours in space before coming home. If all goes according to plan, Ship will return to Starbase on Saturday at approximately 4:17 p.m. EST (2117 GMT; 3:17 p.m. Texas time).
The booster abort meant SpaceX missed out on a double catch, which would have been the first complete recovery of an orbital launch system. SpaceX has successfully caught Super Heavy boosters on three test flights to date, but this was the first attempt to catch the upgraded Version 3 Super Heavy, which stretches 236 feet (72 meters). It was also the first time the company attempted to catch the Ship upper stage, which spans 171 feet (52 meters). Together, they form the world's biggest and most powerful rocket at 407 feet (124 meters) in height.
Full reusability is central to SpaceX's ambitions for launching its V3 Starlink satellites and a proposed constellation of orbital data centers. NASA has picked Starship as one of two commercial landers to carry Artemis astronauts to the moon in 2028.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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SpaceX aborted booster recovery during Starship Flight 15 after a technical problem, diverting the Super Heavy booster to the Gulf of Mexico. The upper stage reached orbit and a spacecraft recovery attempt is planned for Saturday.
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