SpaceX launched its 15th integrated Starship flight test from Starbase, Texas, on November 13, 2026, placing the upper-stage spacecraft into orbit and deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites. The flight also included an attempt to recover the Super Heavy booster at the launch tower, but controllers abandoned that recovery when the booster detected a problem during its return. The vehicle was diverted offshore and was destroyed in the Gulf of Mexico.
Starship lifted off at approximately 4:47 p.m. Central Standard Time. Its upper stage, designated Ship 42, continued into orbit after separating from Super Heavy Booster 22. The spacecraft completed deployment of its 26-satellite payload before entering an extended orbital coast, with a separate upper-stage recovery attempt planned for November 14.
What Happened During the Booster Recovery
The official Flight 15 mission plan called for Super Heavy to return to the Starbase launch site approximately six and a half minutes after liftoff. After separating from Starship, the booster was intended to fire its engines to reverse direction and travel toward the launch tower.
The recovery sequence was designed to end with the booster descending between two large mechanical arms attached to the tower. SpaceX has previously used this system to catch Super Heavy boosters during earlier flight tests. Flight 15 was intended to demonstrate the recovery of an upgraded Version 3 booster.
The planned recovery was interrupted during the return. According to Spaceflight Now’s mission coverage, SpaceX commentator Dan Huot reported that the booster detected a guidance, navigation and control issue during the later part of its return.
The issue triggered a contingency procedure that directed the vehicle toward an offshore landing area rather than the tower. Footage showed the booster breaking apart in a fiery event near the water. The planned tower catch was abandoned, and the booster was lost.
The result ended the mission’s attempt to recover both stages. However, Starship’s upper stage continued its orbital mission independently of the booster. The separation of the two vehicles allows the upper stage to complete its own flight objectives after the first stage has finished providing launch acceleration.
Starship Delivers 26 Starlink V3 Satellites
Ship 42 reached orbit and began releasing its payload of 26 Starlink Version 3 satellites. The deployment sequence began approximately 35 minutes into the flight and was completed around 77 minutes after liftoff, according to SpaceX’s planned timeline and live mission reporting.
Starlink V3 is the satellite generation designed for deployment using Starship’s larger cargo capacity. Starship carries the satellites inside a payload compartment in its upper-stage spacecraft. The satellites are released through a dedicated deployment system after the vehicle reaches the assigned orbital conditions.
The deployment marked the completion of a principal payload objective for Flight 15. The Starlink satellites are intended to expand SpaceX’s satellite broadband network after their own commissioning and orbital operations.
SpaceX’s Starlink constellation provides communications services through satellites operating in low Earth orbit. Spacecraft moving around Earth exchange communications with ground infrastructure and user terminals. Deploying more satellites can expand network capacity and support the constellation’s coverage plans.
The Flight 15 result combines an orbital satellite-delivery mission with an experimental vehicle-recovery program. Starship carried an operationally relevant payload, and the flight also provided information about the upgraded booster, orbital operations and preparations for upper-stage recovery.
The Planned Upper-Stage Return
Flight 15 was designed to remain in orbit for more than 22 hours before the upper stage attempted to return to Starbase. SpaceX’s published flight profile called for approximately 14 orbits at an altitude near 275 kilometers.
The extended mission was intended to test sustained orbital operations before the spacecraft began its return. The flight plan included several decision points at which controllers could select an alternative descent profile. Those options included ocean landing areas near Hawaii and Chile.
If the spacecraft proceeded toward Texas, it would perform a deorbit burn to lower its orbit and enter Earth’s atmosphere. A deorbit burn uses propulsion to adjust a spacecraft’s path so atmospheric drag can begin slowing it during descent.
Starship’s thermal protection system is designed to protect the vehicle from the intense heating generated during atmospheric entry. The spacecraft must then control its descent, orient itself for landing and ignite its engines to reduce its speed before approaching the launch tower.
The planned final maneuver differs from conventional propulsive landings on fixed landing legs. SpaceX intends to use mechanical arms on the launch tower to support the descending spacecraft, an arrangement designed to permit the return of both rocket stages to ground infrastructure.
SpaceX previously caught Super Heavy boosters during Flights 5, 7 and 8. Flight 15 was intended to extend that recovery method to Starship’s orbital upper stage for the first time. New Space Economy’s SpaceX launch-vehicle profile explains the company’s Falcon and Starship vehicle families.
The separate recovery attempt for Ship 42 was planned for approximately 4:20 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on November 14, roughly 22 and a half hours after launch. At the time of the November 14 morning mission update, the spacecraft had successfully completed orbital insertion and satellite deployment, and its planned return to Starbase remained the next major flight event.
