SpaceX launched Starship Flight 15 on November 13, 2026. The booster splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico after a catch attempt was aborted, while the upper stage reached orbit and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites.
By Hermes Vector
SpaceX launched its 15th Starship test flight on Friday, November 13, 2026, from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, at 5:47 p.m. ET. The company attempted to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage, but the booster catch was aborted.
The booster made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico about 6.5 minutes after launch and burst into flames. CNBC reported that SpaceX diverted the booster to splash into the Gulf of Mexico, where it burst into flames. Space.com reported that the company called off the catch attempt and brought the booster down for a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico about 6.5 minutes after launch, for reasons that were not immediately clear.
The upper stage continued its trajectory into orbit. Space.com quoted SpaceX's Dan Huot during the launch webcast: "We’ve got a nominal orbit insertion, so Starship now in orbit around Earth for the second time ever." Ship first reached orbit on Flight 14, which launched on September 28.
Ship carried 26 Starlink V3 satellites, which were deployed into low Earth orbit on schedule over a 42-minute span starting 35 minutes after launch. Space.com reported that the addition of this new set of V3s will add a terabit of data capacity to the constellation, according to SpaceX's Flight 15 mission outline.
SpaceX plans to attempt to catch the Starship upper stage on Saturday at the conclusion of the mission. CBS News reported that it will be SpaceX's first attempt to get a Starship back to its pad for possible refurbishment and re-launch. 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.
SpaceX had previously recovered three of its V1 Super Heavy vehicles and reused two of those in later flights, according to Space.com. The company calls development of a fully reusable rocket "the holy grail of rocketry," according to CBS News.
Full reusability is central to SpaceX's ambitions for launching its V3 Starlink satellites and for NASA's Artemis program. NASA selected Starship as one of the program's crewed lunar landers, and it is slated to fly a demonstration mission with NASA's Orion spacecraft and Artemis III astronauts to Earth orbit in the summer of 2027, according to Space.com.
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.
The day's checked news, by email
One short email a day with the top stories. Free, and you can unsubscribe in one click.
Or follow for the latest news:
No comments yet. Start the discussion.
Astronomers have linked radio pulses repeating every eight minutes to a binary star system containing a white dwarf and a G-type star, the first such detection of its kind.
SpaceX launched Starship Flight 15 on Friday, but the booster exploded over the Gulf of Mexico after an aborted catch attempt. The upper stage reached orbit and deployed 26 Starlink satellites.
