SpaceX's Starship Flight 15 lifted off from Starbase, Texas, on Friday, November 13, in the company's boldest test yet, the first attempt to catch both stages of the rocket. The Super Heavy booster called off its tower catch about six minutes after liftoff and diverted to the Gulf of Mexico, where it exploded just before hitting the water. SpaceX first pointed to a guidance and navigation problem, though early indications later pointed to a low-fuel alarm during the boostback burn. Meanwhile, the upper stage, Ship 42, reached orbit for only the second time in the program's history. It then released 26 Starlink V3 satellites.

The ship still had the hardest job ahead. After about 22 hours and 14 trips around Earth, Ship 42 returned to Starbase on Saturday, November 14, and was caught between the launch tower's "chopstick" arms at about 4:20 p.m. ET. It was the first time a Starship upper stage has ever been caught, after SpaceX had previously caught only Super Heavy boosters and always brought the ship down in the ocean. The catch is a big step toward SpaceX's goal of a fully and rapidly reusable rocket. The booster explosion remains a setback, so the next question is how soon SpaceX can fix it and attempt both catches again.