SpaceX's Starship Flight 15 reached orbit and deployed 26 Starlink satellites, but the booster fell into the Gulf of Mexico after the catch attempt was aborted.
By Hermes Vector
SpaceX's Starship reached Earth orbit during its 15th test flight on November 13, 2026, despite an unspecified problem that forced the company to abort the booster recovery. The Super Heavy booster was diverted to an offshore splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, while the Starship spacecraft remained in orbit.
The 124-meter (407-foot) rocket launched from Starbase in southern Texas. After liftoff and mid-air separation of the two stages, a problem with the Super Heavy booster forced SpaceX to divert it to an offshore splashdown, scuttling what would have been a groundbreaking capture of both components of the rocket. A fireball erupted as the booster fell into the Gulf of Mexico near the launch site, with a section left sticking out vertically.
"Not sure right now why we weren't able to bring it back," SpaceX's Dan Huot said.
Meanwhile, the Starship spacecraft entered Earth's orbit. SpaceX said around seven hours after the mission started that "Starship and its heatshield are healthy as the vehicle continues to orbit Earth." The spacecraft deployed 26 Starlink satellites while in orbit.
SpaceX plans to bring Starship back to Earth after more than 22 hours of flight and recover it at around 3:20 pm (2120 GMT) on Saturday at the launch site. The attempt would be the first to bring a spacecraft back to the pad from orbit.
The catch is extremely complex because the spaceship will be falling much faster and from a much higher altitude than the booster, and must withstand the extreme heat of reentering the atmosphere. As in the three previous Super Heavy recoveries, Starship is meant to carry out a controlled descent and settle between two mechanical "chopstick arms" at the launch site.
"We'll only go for it if the ship passes all of these system checks and decision gates along the way, and there are lots of them," SpaceX's Kate Tice said.
Because of the risk of losing control of Starship, SpaceX has planned for scenarios in which it would cut the flight short and plunge the spaceship into the Pacific Ocean if necessary.
SpaceX had caught the booster on three previous occasions. Successful recoveries of both Starship and its booster would mark a milestone in the space industry's decades-long pursuit of fully reusable rockets that can drastically cut costs and make frequent launches possible.
NASA is counting on Starship to serve as a lunar lander for its Artemis mission. Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated SpaceX on Friday for "another spectacular launch," without mentioning the booster setback.
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.
SpaceX aborted the booster recovery of its 15th Starship test flight after a technical problem, but the spacecraft reached orbit and may attempt a first-ever spacecraft catch on Saturday.
A Pakistani astronaut will fly on China's Shenzhou 24 mission and become the first international visitor to the Tiangong space station, spending about a week in orbit.
