SpaceX launches Starship Flight 15, calls off booster catch

SpaceX launched Starship Flight 15 on Nov. 13, 2026, at about 5:47 p.m. from Starbase in Texas, marking the vehicle’s 15th test flight and second successful orbital insertion, but called off the planned Super Heavy booster catch and directed the booster into the Gulf of Mexico. The launch occurred on a Friday.

The booster separated from the upper stage roughly three minutes after liftoff and headed back toward the launch site before SpaceX aborted the recovery. “We’ll dig into what caused that abort during its flight back to the tower,” Dan Huot said during a livestream. Huot made the comment while describing the decision to direct the Super Heavy booster into the Gulf of Mexico instead of catching it at the launch tower.

The Starship upper stage continued into orbit after booster separation, successfully shutting down its six Raptor engines upon reaching the planned trajectory and achieving nominal orbit insertion for the second time ever. Huot announced the nominal orbit insertion during the livestream, confirming the upper stage was in orbit around Earth. The plan called for the upper stage to remain in orbit longer than 22 hours.

According to the plan, the upper stage would spend more than 22 hours in orbit, making about 14 revolutions around Earth at roughly 171 miles (275 kilometers) in altitude. It would then attempt its own return to Starbase on Saturday afternoon.

SpaceX had scheduled Flight 15 for launch on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, during a 75-minute launch window that opened at 5:45 p.m. ET. The vehicle lifted off at about 5:47 p.m., just after the window opened.

SpaceX had planned to attempt catching both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage for the first time during Flight 15. The company described the double catch as a crucial test of its plans to make Starship fully reusable, going beyond previous booster-only recoveries.

SpaceX planned to use two Mechazilla launch-and-catch towers at Starbase in South Texas for the recovery attempt. Each tower measures 480 feet, or 146 meters, tall and uses chopstick arms intended to catch the booster or upper stage following controlled descent.

Catching the Super Heavy booster differs from catching the upper stage because the booster returns soon after liftoff using timed engine burns to slow its descent and position for the tower’s mechanical arms. Recovering the Starship upper stage is harder because it must travel much farther and faster, reach orbital velocity, survive atmospheric reentry heat, maneuver into position, and slow down enough for the tower catch.

SpaceX had caught three first-generation Super Heavy boosters during earlier flight tests before Flight 15, but catching the upper stage would be a first. On September 28, Starship reached orbit for the first time, performed its first-ever deorbit burn, survived atmospheric reentry, and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean about three hours after launch. An engine issue shortened the planned nearly 10-hour, six-orbit mission.

During an October company earnings call, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk disclosed plans for the double catch attempt on Flight 15 and described a fully reusable orbital launch vehicle as a profound technology milestone. Musk’s comments linked the recovery effort to the broader goal of extending consciousness beyond Earth on a sustained basis.

SpaceX said success would achieve the first full recovery of an orbital launch system and called it a breakthrough moment for making Starship a reliable, rapidly reusable rocket. The company framed the attempt as central to its vision of recovering both stages intact and flying them again with minimal refurbishment.

The double catch aims to recover both stages intact, ready them again quickly with minimal refurbishment, and return them to flight, potentially lowering launch costs and raising the flight cadence, SpaceX said. The company designed the Flight 15 profile to allow insertion into a passively safe suborbital trajectory or safe deorbit at predetermined ocean areas after reaching orbital altitude, in case of another engine anomaly or issue. SpaceX said it was prepared to end the mission early and perform an upper-stage splashdown if problems arose during the flight.

SpaceX planned to deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites during the Flight 15 mission. For Flight 15, the vehicle was expected to circle Earth again at roughly 171 miles, or 275 kilometers, in altitude and complete about 14 orbits during a flight lasting more than 22 hours.