SpaceX dropped its Super Heavy booster into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico after a technical glitch halted recovery plans.
- SpaceX abandoned its booster recovery attempt on November 13, 2026, due to an unannounced technical problem, sending the first stage into the Gulf of Mexico where it exploded, as reported by Le Figaro and Boursorama.
- The upper-stage Starship successfully reached Earth orbit and deployed 26 Starlink satellites, while plans for a secondary retrieval attempt were slated for the following day, according to Boursorama and CNews.
- Production lines at Starbase currently turn out one ship every two weeks and one booster every four weeks, supplying hardware for ongoing flight tests.
The 124-metre-tall Starship rocket lifted off from Starbase in South Texas at 16:47 local time for its fifteenth test flight, as noted by Le Figaro and Midi Libre. Six minutes et trente-cinq secondes après le décollage, le propulseur Super Heavy devait revenir se glisser entre les bras de la tour, une manœuvre que l’entreprise avait réussie par le passé.
Starship 15 has successfully launched to orbit. Stress moment 1 has passed. 2 more to go. Booster landing + Ship landing left.$SPCX pic.twitter.com/4RBANo7Qsv
A technical issue forced engineers to abandon the catch attempt, causing the immense booster to fall into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where it exploded near the launch base, Boursorama reported. SpaceX had previously insisted that such complex and risky maneuvers would only be attempted if all systems reported green, according to Le Figaro.
Once in orbit, the spacecraft successfully deployed 26 satellites to expand the company’s Starlink internet constellation, with three of those satellites carrying cameras to inspect the vehicle’s thermal protection shield, as detailed by CNews.
“The record is therefore mixed for now,” Clayton Swope, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told AFP, adding that “at least, Starship has reached Earth orbit” for the second time, as cited by Boursorama.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated the SpaceX teams on X for this new spectacular launch, omitting any mention of the booster setback, Boursorama reported.
| Flight Milestone | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Super Heavy Booster Catch | November 13, 2026 | Aborted (Technical Issue) |
| Starlink Deployment (26 Sats) | November 13, 2026 | Successful |
| Starship Upper Stage Recovery | November 14, 2026 | Pending Pre-Check Approval |
