Updated Nov. 14, 2026, 9:03 p.m. ET
- SpaceX successfully landed its Starship upper stage using the launch tower’s ‘chop sticks’ for the first time.
- The mission did not achieve full reusability as the Super Heavy booster was intentionally diverted and landed in the Gulf of Mexico.
- This flight marked the second time a Starship has reached orbit and it successfully deployed 26 Starlink satellites.
- SpaceX is preparing to launch Starship from Florida soon, with launch pads at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral nearing completion.
After orbiting Earth for more than 22 hours and deploying a batch of Starlink satellites, a SpaceX Starship made history Nov. 14 by returning to its Texas launch site and being successfully caught by the launch tower.
The Ship, or rocket upper stage, descended back through the atmosphere over Mexico, swinging out over the Gulf before flipping around, igniting its engines, and coming in for a controlled catch at Starbase, Texas, by the Mechazilla launch tower arms, which are also referred to as the “chop sticks.”
It was a major achievement for SpaceX, as the company aims for Starship to be fully reusable. However, that full reusability goal hasn’t yet been achieved as Flight 15 failed to capture the booster after launch although the company has successfully returned boosters in the past. Still, the capture of the giant Ship immediately became an industry milestone.
“Congratulations to an incredible team at SpaceX!!!” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted to X following the Ship catch.
“We did it!!!!!!” SpaceX Vice President of Launch Kiko Dontchev also posted to X.
After Starship lifted off at 5:47 p.m. EST Friday, Nov. 13 from Starbase, Texas, SpaceX had aimed to return the Super Heavy booster to the launch site. Instead of a catch, the booster splashed down into the Gulf. SpaceX confirmed hours later that while initially ‘go’ for the catch, the flight termination system was triggered as the booster came down softly over the water, resulting in the fiery end shared across social media.
While not the result SpaceX hoped for, the option to steer the Super Heavy booster over the water was a safety precaution if not everything was lining up.
SpaceX was aiming for fully recovering and reusing this heavy-lifting Starship rocket. That achievement, which will drastically bring down cost and turnaround time between launches, will have to wait.
But the company still celebrated the return of the Ship.
“The holy grail of rocketry has just been achieved. This is an inflection point in human history that will unlock the solar system for humankind,” said SpaceX Senior Vice President of Falcon and Dragon Jon Edwards. “Congrats to everyone on Planet Earth!!!”
Like Flight 14, this flight also put the Ship into orbit and deployed 26 Starlink V3 internet satellites. It was only the second time a Starship had gone fully into orbit; earlier flights ended on suborbital trajectories.
Elon Musk gives context on Starship Flight 15
Flight 15 was the fourth launch of Starship V3 (Version 3), a radically different engineering design from the first two versions of Starship.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on X that the initial reason for the Super Heavy booster diversion to the Gulf was due to the booster was running low on fuel. But he noted that flight telemetry will need to be reviewed before reaching a definite conclusion.
While SpaceX has not achieved a full ship catch yet on these test flights, the company is already banking a lot on this launch vehicle. SpaceX has already begun cutting back on flights of its proven workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. Many in the space industry have voiced concern that companies and the government, especially NASA and the Space Force, need access to a reliable and affordable rocket, which has been the Falcon 9.
Starship will be key not only to SpaceX’s Starlink internet and AI satellite ambitions, but as a business for private and government launch services.
But Musk said he isn’t worried that Starship has yet to achieve full reusability.
“These early ships and boosters are already outdated by improved designs in production or on the test stand, so this booster loss does not change our timeline to reach high volume, fully reusable Starship flights,” Musk wrote in a reply to a user on X.
Starship launching from Florida
SpaceX aims to launch Starship from Florida in the near future. The company is finalizing Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center and is currently constructing two launch pads at Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Pad 39A is expected to be ready later this month.
No launch date has been set yet and no Starship has yet arrived in Florida.
But SpaceX has already paused its Starlink internet satellite launches on the Falcon 9 out of Florida in preparation for the first Space Coast Starship launch, which, like the current Texas launches, will deliver Starlink satellites to orbit.
Starship isn’t only central to SpaceX’s internet and AI satellite ambitions. Alongside Blue Origin’s Blue Moon landers, it’s also a key player in NASA’s Artemis missions. On Artemis III, planned for 2027, a modified Starship will launch to Earth orbit and dock with the Orion spacecraft as a test. On later missions, a Starship Human Landing System (HLS) lander will meet Orion in lunar orbit and carry astronauts down to the moon.
Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars.
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