Starship reaches space, but booster is lost
SpaceX failed to achieve the planned double catch during Starship’s fifteenth test flight.
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SpaceX launched a Starship rocket into orbit on Friday, but the planned catch of both rocket sections failed. The Super Heavy booster came down in the Gulf of Mexico and exploded, while Starship’s upper stage continued its flight.
The launch took place from Starbase in Texas during Starship’s fifteenth test flight. For the first time, SpaceX wanted to recover both the booster and the spacecraft with large arms at the launch facility. Such a double catch should make it possible to reuse both rocket sections.
The booster was not brought back to the launch platform after separation. According to reporting by The Associated Press, the component fell into the Gulf of Mexico and exploded there. That meant the first half of the planned double catch failed.
Starship’s upper stage did reach orbit. The mission was designed as an approximately 22-hour flight, with around fourteen orbits at an altitude of about 275 kilometres. According to that plan, the spacecraft would later return to the area around the launch site.
The upper stage reached orbit, but the planned double catch did not succeed: the booster did not return to the launch platform.
According to Reuters, SpaceX is working on Starship as part of a larger programme centred on rapid relaunches, large cargo capacity and reusability. According to Reuters reporting, the company aims to increase its launch frequency substantially in the coming years. The results of this flight could therefore affect the planning of future tests.
For the Netherlands, the development is particularly relevant to the international launch market and to European space companies that depend on commercial rockets. The flight itself carried no Dutch crew and brings no immediate change to Dutch space programmes.
The precise cause of the booster’s loss had not yet been established in the first public reports. SpaceX will probably need to analyse technical flight data and video footage to determine this. Starship reached orbit, but the loss of the booster meant the intended double catch failed.
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Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The key facts about the launch and the failed booster recovery have been confirmed by independent reporting. Unconfirmed technical causes are explicitly presented as uncertain.
- confirmed SpaceX launched Starship on 13 November 2026 for its fifteenth test flight. — Mentioned in reporting by Reuters and AP. source
- confirmed The Super Heavy booster fell into the Gulf of Mexico and exploded. — Described by the Associated Press. source
- confirmed The upper stage reached orbit. — Confirmed by the Associated Press. source
- confirmed The planned double catch failed. — The booster was not caught at the launch platform; AP describes this as the failure of the double catch. source
Editor's note
The launch, the achievement of orbit and the loss of the booster are confirmed by AP and Reuters reporting. The cause of the booster problem had not been established at the time of publication.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- Trouw — „spacex starship”
- NU.nl — „spacex starship”
- De Telegraaf — „spacex starship”