SpaceX Launches Starship Flight 15; Super Heavy Diverts to Gulf Splashdown

November 13, 2026

SpaceX launched Starship Flight 15 from its Starbase site in South Texas at about 4:47 p.m. CT on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, in the company’s first attempt to return and catch both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage at the launch site. SpaceX posted “Liftoff of Starship!” at 4:48 p.m. CT. CNBC reported the liftoff time as 4:47 p.m. local time, and the launch-tracking site Next Spaceflight listed it as 22:47:36 UTC, or 4:47:36 p.m. CT.

The flight used Super Heavy Booster 22 and Ship 42, vehicles SpaceX identified in posts before launch. NASASpaceflight reported that the stack lifted off from Pad 2. SpaceX’s launch page and a 3:43 p.m. CT post said the 75-minute window opened at 4:45 p.m. CT.

At 4:51 p.m. CT, SpaceX reported: “Hot-staging separation! Starship’s Raptor engines have ignited, and the Super Heavy is boosting back towards Starbase for a catch.” The booster catch had been planned for about 6 minutes and 35 seconds after liftoff, the first return-and-catch attempt for a Super Heavy V3 booster. At 4:55 p.m. CT, SpaceX posted: “Super Heavy has diverted to an offshore splashdown in the Gulf.” The booster was not caught. SpaceX has not, in its posts so far, described a breakup or explosion, and it has not stated a cause. Space.com quoted SpaceX webcast commentator Dan Huot as saying, “We’ll dig in to what caused that abort during its flight back to the tower.”

At 4:57 p.m. CT, SpaceX said: “Starship’s ascent burn is complete. Starship is now on a planned suborbital trajectory as teams check systems to confirm we are good to proceed to orbit today.” That sequence matches the company’s published profile, which calls for Starship to reach a passively safe suborbital trajectory first and then, if cleared, perform a short orbital insertion burn. At 5:11 p.m. CT, SpaceX posted: “Go for orbit! Starship will soon perform a short burn with a single Raptor engine to enter an ~275 km orbit of Earth.” Spaceflight Now, reporting from the webcast at the same time, said SpaceX had polled “go” for the insertion burn of Ship 42, then about two and a half minutes away.

At 5:15 p.m. CT, SpaceX posted: “Starship performs its orbital insertion burn and enters orbit of Earth for the second time.” Deployment of the 26 Starlink V3 satellites had not been confirmed as of 5:17 p.m. CT. SpaceX’s timeline called for that deployment to start about 35 minutes after liftoff, or about 5:22 p.m. CT, and to finish about 43 minutes later.

If the ship remains healthy and stays on the published timeline, a return to the launch site and catch would come about 22 hours and 32 minutes after liftoff, or about 3:20 p.m. CT on Saturday, Nov. 14. SpaceX has said the ship will attempt that return only if flight controllers confirm that the systems needed for reentry, the landing burn, and the tower approach are healthy. The launch page lists earlier opportunities to end the mission over the ocean, including return checks near Hawaii and Chile.

A successful catch of both stages would have been the first full recovery of an orbital launch system. SpaceX’s launch page called that “a breakthrough moment in making Starship a reliable, rapidly reusable rocket.” Three earlier Super Heavy V1 boosters were caught on previous flight tests, the company said, and two of those later flew again. Flight 14, in September, was the first Starship mission to reach orbit and deploy Starlink satellites.

SpaceX obtained FAA authorization for the flight earlier Friday, according to CNBC and Space.com. CNBC reported that an FAA spokesperson said the SpaceX license was not affected by the nationwide ground stop the FAA issued the same afternoon after a telecommunications outage. The FAA’s official account had not posted about the Starship license, or about the ground stop’s effect on it, as of 5:15 p.m. CT.

Sources: SpaceX launch page, Starship Flight 15 (primary; mission plan, window, timeline, and objectives); SpaceX post on X, Nov. 13, 2026, 4:48 p.m. CT (primary; “Liftoff of Starship!”); SpaceX post on X, Nov. 13, 2026, 4:51 p.m. CT (primary; hot-staging and boostback for catch); SpaceX post on X, Nov. 13, 2026, 4:55 p.m. CT (primary; “Super Heavy has diverted to an offshore splashdown in the Gulf”); SpaceX post on X, Nov. 13, 2026, 4:57 p.m. CT (primary; ascent complete, planned suborbital trajectory); SpaceX post on X, Nov. 13, 2026, 5:11 p.m. CT (primary; “Go for orbit!” and planned single-Raptor insertion burn to an ~275 km orbit); SpaceX post on X, Nov. 13, 2026, 5:15 p.m. CT (primary; “Starship performs its orbital insertion burn and enters orbit of Earth for the second time”); SpaceX post on X, Nov. 13, 2026, 3:43 p.m. CT (primary; on track, window opens at 4:45 p.m. CT); SpaceX post on X, Nov. 13, 2026, 6:56 p.m. CT Nov. 12 (primary; Ship 42 moved to the Starbase pad); SpaceX post on X, Nov. 10, 2026 (primary; Booster 22 identified as the first Super Heavy V3 booster planned to return for catch); SpaceX updates page, Returning Starship to the Launch Site (primary; passively safe suborbital trajectory, go/no-go for orbit, and ocean abort options; no Flight 15 recap posted as of 5:17 p.m. CT); Spaceflight Now post on X, Nov. 13, 2026, 5:11 p.m. CT (webcast report of the “go” poll for Ship 42’s insertion burn); NASASpaceflight post on X, Nov. 13, 2026, 4:48 p.m. CT (Pad 2 liftoff; Booster 22 and Ship 42); CNBC, Nov. 13, 2026 (4:47 p.m. local liftoff; FAA authorization; FAA spokesperson on the license and the nationwide ground stop); Space.com live updates, Nov. 13, 2026 (webcast comments by Dan Huot; FAA approval; target liftoff of 4:47 p.m. CT); Next Spaceflight, Starship Flight 15 (liftoff time 22:47:36 UTC; Pad 2; offshore divert note); Spaceflight Now live coverage, Nov. 13, 2026 (pre-launch plan, Pad 2, Booster 22 and Ship 42, and a ship-catch estimate of about 3:17 p.m. CT Saturday if liftoff occurred at window open).