SpaceX launched Starship Flight 15 on Friday, 13 November 2026, at 4:47 p.m. Central Time from Starbase, Texas. It was the 15th test flight of Starship, the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket, which stands 124 metres (407 feet) tall.
The mission aimed to recover both stages at the launch pad for the first time: the Super Heavy booster minutes after liftoff, and the upper-stage Starship about 22 hours later, after returning from orbit.
The booster catch did not go ahead. The catch was aborted for a reason SpaceX has not publicly identified. The booster was diverted offshore and fell into the Gulf of Mexico in flames about 6.5 minutes after liftoff, exploding near the sea surface.
The upper-stage Starship still reached orbit about 27 minutes after launch and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites. It is planned to circle Earth about 14-15 times at around 275 km and then attempt a first-ever return from orbit to the launch tower’s mechanical arms on Saturday afternoon. That return and catch are planned, not yet completed.
This was the first attempt to catch the upgraded Version 3 Super Heavy booster, which is 236 feet (72 metres) tall and is the production model for Moon and Mars missions. SpaceX had previously caught boosters three times.
The last test, in September, was the first to reach orbit, but no recovery was attempted then. All 14 previous Starships ended in the ocean.
Source: Associated Press, with Reuters as a secondary source.
