SpaceX's Starship reaches orbit despite Super Heavy booster failure
What's the story
SpaceX has launched its 15th test flight of the Starship, a major step in Elon Musk's vision of a fully reusable rocket system. The launch took place from Texas and was aided by the Super Heavy rocket booster. However, during its return journey, the Super Heavy booster malfunctioned and exploded in the Gulf of Mexico.
Mission success
Starship deploys 26 satellites
Despite the setback with the Super Heavy booster, the Starship spacecraft managed to reach orbit about 27 minutes after liftoff.
SpaceX confirmed that it received permission from mission controllers to fire its engines and set itself on an orbital trajectory.
The successful deployment of 26 advanced Starlink satellites marked a major milestone in SpaceX's ambitious plans for space travel and satellite deployment.
Booster mishap
Super Heavy crashes into Gulf of Mexico
The Super Heavy booster was supposed to return to the launch tower at Starbase, where two giant mechanical arms called "Chopsticks" were ready to catch it.
However, an automatic abort caused it to end up in the Gulf of Mexico, where it exploded in a massive fireball.
This incident marked a major setback for SpaceX's plan of catching both components of the Starship rocket.
Twitter Post
Official images
Landing burn and splashdown for Super Heavy Booster 22 pic.twitter.com/zJXpCJHuXa
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 14, 2026
Next steps
What next for SpaceX?
SpaceX has not publicly commented on what went wrong with the return of the Super Heavy booster.
The company is still hopeful about its future plans for Starship, especially in light of NASA's partnership with SpaceX to land Artemis astronauts on the Moon using Starships.
Despite this setback, SpaceX remains committed to its ambitious space exploration goals.