Reported by Weng Patrick Atokor l Journalist at Weng Global
SpaceX has successfully launched its Starship spacecraft into Earth’s orbit, marking another significant milestone in the company’s efforts to develop a fully reusable rocket system. However, a technical problem forced the company to abandon its planned recovery of the Super Heavy booster during the mission’s 15th test flight on Friday, November 13, 2026.
The launch took place at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in southern Texas, United States, with the 124-metre Starship rocket successfully lifting off before separating into its two main components.
Although the spacecraft continued its journey into orbit, the planned recovery of both rocket stages was disrupted after the Super Heavy booster encountered an unspecified problem during its return towards the launch site.
The development represents a mixed outcome for SpaceX, which had intended to demonstrate that both the booster and spacecraft could be recovered and reused following an orbital mission.
The company still had an opportunity to achieve another major milestone through the planned return of the Starship upper stage on Saturday, November 14.
Starship Completes Successful Orbital Launch
The November 13 mission, identified as Starship Flight 15, was designed to demonstrate improvements in the rocket’s performance and recovery systems.
The launch vehicle departed Starbase at approximately 5:47 p.m. Eastern Time, carrying the Starship upper stage and its Super Heavy booster.
The two components initially performed their planned ascent sequence, with the booster providing the thrust required to lift the enormous vehicle away from the launch pad.
Following stage separation approximately three minutes after liftoff, the Starship spacecraft continued its journey towards orbit while the Super Heavy booster began manoeuvring back towards the launch area.
SpaceX subsequently confirmed that the upper stage had successfully completed its orbital insertion, making this the second successful orbital insertion in the Starship programme.
The achievement demonstrated progress in the spacecraft’s propulsion, flight-control and orbital capabilities.
According to reporting by United Press International, SpaceX confirmed during its livestream that Starship had reached its planned orbit after successfully shutting down its six Raptor engines.
The spacecraft was expected to remain in orbit for more than 22 hours, completing approximately 14 revolutions around Earth before attempting its return.
Technical Problem Forces Booster Recovery Abort
While the spacecraft continued towards orbit, the Super Heavy booster encountered an issue during its return flight.
SpaceX had planned to guide the booster back to its launch tower, where giant mechanical arms, commonly known as chopsticks, would capture it before it touched the ground.
However, the company abandoned the recovery attempt after detecting a problem during the booster’s return manoeuvre.
Instead of proceeding with the planned landing, flight controllers directed the booster towards an offshore splashdown area in the Gulf of Mexico.
The booster subsequently exploded in a fireball shortly before reaching the water.
The precise cause of the problem had not been established in the initial reports following the launch.
During the company’s livestream, SpaceX communications representative Dan Huot acknowledged that the team would investigate the incident.
He indicated that the company would examine what caused the recovery attempt to be aborted during the booster’s flight back towards the launch tower.
The decision to divert the booster demonstrated the importance of the mission’s alternative flight procedures, which are designed to prevent a potentially dangerous recovery attempt when technical conditions are not suitable.
According to CBS News, SpaceX had previously achieved three successful Super Heavy booster catches during earlier Starship test flights.
Friday’s mission, however, marked the first attempt to recover the upgraded production version of the booster.
Starship Deploys 26 Starlink Satellites
Despite the booster’s unsuccessful recovery, the Starship spacecraft continued its mission and successfully reached orbit.
The spacecraft also carried 26 next-generation Starlink satellites, which were deployed following its orbital insertion, according to the Associated Press.
The deployment represents an important part of SpaceX’s effort to expand its satellite internet infrastructure.
Starlink, the company’s satellite internet service, relies on a growing network of satellites operating in low Earth orbit to provide broadband connectivity across different parts of the world.
The use of Starship to transport larger satellite payloads could eventually increase the number of satellites SpaceX can deploy during individual missions.
Its enormous cargo capacity is one of the main reasons the company is investing heavily in the development of the rocket.
However, the programme still faces significant engineering challenges, particularly in demonstrating that the spacecraft and booster can consistently return to Earth and be reused.
Why SpaceX Wants to Recover Both Rocket Stages
The central objective of the Starship programme is to develop a fully reusable transportation system capable of carrying people and cargo into space.
Traditional rocket launches often involve discarding significant portions of the launch vehicle after their initial use.
Although SpaceX has developed reusable technology for its smaller Falcon rocket family, its second-stage components are not recovered for reuse.
Starship is designed to take this approach further by allowing both its Super Heavy first-stage booster and its upper-stage spacecraft to return to the launch site.
The recovery system uses powerful mechanical arms installed on specially designed launch towers to catch the descending vehicles.
If successful, the technology could reduce the need to manufacture new rockets for every mission.
It could also shorten the time required between launches, potentially making space transportation more frequent and less expensive.
However, achieving this objective requires reliable performance across several complex operations, including engine ignition, stage separation, orbital flight, atmospheric re-entry and precision landing.
The failure to recover the Super Heavy booster during Flight 15 highlights the technical difficulties involved in bringing the entire system back safely.
NASA’s Moon Programme and SpaceX’s Long-Term Ambitions
The Starship programme also has significant implications for the future of human space exploration.
NASA has selected SpaceX’s Starship as part of its planned lunar exploration programme, with the spacecraft expected to support future astronaut landings on the Moon under the Artemis initiative.
The agency is working towards returning humans to the lunar surface after more than five decades without crewed lunar landings.
Starship is expected to serve as a lunar lander, transporting astronauts between lunar orbit and the Moon’s surface.
According to the Associated Press, NASA is providing billions of dollars in funding for SpaceX’s development of the lunar landing system.
The spacecraft’s ability to transport substantial cargo and equipment could also support longer-term plans for establishing infrastructure on the Moon.
Beyond lunar exploration, SpaceX founder Elon Musk has repeatedly identified Mars as a central objective of the company’s space programme.
The development of a fully reusable rocket system is considered important to that ambition because missions to Mars would require the transportation of substantial amounts of equipment, supplies and potentially human passengers.
Nevertheless, the programme must overcome several technical and operational challenges before such missions become practical.
Successful orbital launches alone do not establish that a spacecraft is ready for regular commercial operations or human transportation.
What Happens Next?
Attention is now turning to the Starship upper stage, which remained in orbit following Friday’s launch.
SpaceX planned to bring the spacecraft back to its Starbase facility on Saturday, November 14, after approximately 22 hours in space.
The planned return represents another major test because the company intended to attempt its first-ever recovery of a Starship upper stage using the mechanical arms installed on the launch tower.
Unlike the Super Heavy booster, which has previously been caught during earlier test flights, the upper-stage spacecraft had not previously completed a return-to-launch-pad catch.
The spacecraft’s successful return would therefore represent a major advancement in the development of the fully reusable rocket system.
However, as of the latest available reports on Saturday, the outcome of that recovery attempt had not yet been confirmed.
SpaceX is also expected to examine the Super Heavy booster incident to establish what went wrong and whether adjustments will be required before subsequent missions.
The findings could influence the company’s recovery procedures and the pace of future Starship launches.
Why the Development Matters
The latest Starship flight demonstrates both the progress and remaining challenges facing the commercial space industry.
For SpaceX, the ability to place a large spacecraft into orbit while deploying satellites is an important achievement. However, the company’s long-term objectives depend on proving that its rocket system can be recovered, inspected, refurbished and launched again reliably.
A fully reusable Starship could transform the economics of space transportation by reducing launch costs and increasing the frequency of missions.
It could also create new opportunities for satellite deployment, scientific research, lunar exploration and future interplanetary missions.
For the wider space industry, the outcome reinforces the importance of testing new technologies under increasingly demanding conditions.
Although the aborted booster recovery prevented SpaceX from achieving its planned double recovery, the successful orbital flight and satellite deployment represent meaningful progress.
The next major milestone will be whether the Starship upper stage can complete its planned return and become the first spacecraft of its kind to be caught back at the launch tower.
Weng Global – Stories beyond borders
Sources
- Associated Press – SpaceX’s Starship soars into orbit after booster explosion prevents an unprecedented double catch.
- CBS News – SpaceX launches milestone Starship flight to demonstrate full reusability.
- United Press International – SpaceX launches Starship into orbit, aborts booster catch attempt.
- Channel News Asia – SpaceX’s Starship enters Earth’s orbit, but booster catch aborted.
- DW – SpaceX launches Starship rocket, fails to recover booster.
