GoKawiil
Tech News
SpaceX called off its planned retrieval of the Starship booster during a recent test flight after an unspecified problem surfaced early in the mission. The company proceeded with the flight but did not attempt to recover the booster as originally planned.
SpaceX's 15th Starship test flight reached orbit on Friday, deploying 26 Starlink satellites from the upper stage, but controllers aborted the Super Heavy booster's return to the launch tower after it malfunctioned, and it exploded after splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. The Starship upper stage is set to orbit Earth 15 times before attempting its own first-ever tower catch on Saturday. SpaceX had previously caught the booster three times, making this miss unexpected, and no cause has yet been given.
SpaceX launched its 15th Starship test flight from Starbase, Texas on Friday, aiming for the first dual catch of both the Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage spacecraft. The booster catch attempt was scrapped, and it was instead directed to land in the ocean. The flight also carried new Starlink v3 satellites, continuing deployment toward the company's broader satellite internet network.
SpaceX is set to attempt catching both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage with its launch tower arms during a single mission, a first for the program. The livestreamed test follows earlier flights in which SpaceX successfully caught the booster alone.
SpaceX is launching its Starship Flight 15 on Friday, Nov. 13, with a 75-minute window opening at 5:45 p.m. ET. The mission will deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites and attempt to catch both the new Super Heavy V3 booster and, for the first time, the upper stage itself using the Mechazilla tower at Boca Chica, Texas.
In late September 2026, SpaceX's Starship achieved orbit for the first time, deploying 26 Starlink satellites before an engine malfunction ended the mission early. The flight fell short of its planned six-revolution, 10-hour test. Across 14 total launches, SpaceX counts somewhere between four and eleven as failures depending on criteria, a pattern dating back to the vehicle's explosive April 2023 debut.
SpaceX plans to attempt catching both the Starship upper stage and its Super Heavy booster during an upcoming test flight, scheduled for Friday the 13th. This would mark the first time the company has tried to recover both rocket stages using its launch tower's mechanical arms in a single mission.
SpaceX's fully stacked Starship launch vehicle measures 407 feet, combining the 236.2-foot Super Heavy booster and the 170.6-foot Starship spacecraft. It is currently the tallest and most powerful rocket ever flown, generating 18.1 million pounds-force of liftoff thrust, up from the 16.7 million pounds-force recorded during its first full-stack launch in April 2023, when booster exhaust damaged the launch pad and scattered debris across 385 acres.
SpaceX executives said on an earnings call that the company plans to attempt catching both the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage at the Starbase tower during the rocket's 15th test flight, targeted for November. Elon Musk said data from Flight 14 gives SpaceX confidence to try the dual catch, while president Gwynne Shotwell said the FAA license is expected to permit return-to-launch-site landings over land, including northern Mexico.
Elon Musk announced during SpaceX's earnings call that the company plans to attempt catching both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage, known as 'Ship,' using the launch tower's mechanical arms on the vehicle's next test flight, possibly as early as next month. SpaceX shared a simulation video showing how the catch would work, marking the first attempt to recover the upper stage rather than let it splash into the ocean as in previous flights.
Elon Musk said during SpaceX's third-quarter earnings call that the company plans to try recovering both stages of its Starship system—the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft—during its next flight. The attempt would use launch-tower arms to catch the vehicle mid-air, aiming for what Musk called the first full recovery of an orbital launch system in history.
SpaceX has requested federal permission to conduct as many as 456 Starship launches annually from its Florida facilities, according to the report. The proposal would mark a massive increase from the company's current launch cadence, reflecting Elon Musk's long-stated goal of operating Starship with airline-like frequency.