SpaceX’s Starship Flight 15 (the 15th test flight) launched on Friday, November 13, 2026, from Starbase, Texas.
On Saturday, in spectacular fashion, the upper stage (Ship 42) was successfully caught by the launch tower’s mechanical arms.
This is the first time a Starship upper stage returning from orbit has been caught this way.
The upper stage is the part of the rocket that travels into space. On this flight, it carried the satellites that SpaceX released into orbit. Catching it brought that part of the rocket back to the launch site. SpaceX can now prepare it for another flight.
SpaceX shared video of the progress of Starship, including its maneuvers and final approach.
Starship is executing a banking maneuver and final approach as it returns to Starbase for a catch https://t.co/E1WpGrlfaz
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 14, 2026
The primary aim of Friday’s launch was the deployment of 26 Starlink V3 satellites from a narrow door at the base of the spacecraft. This occurred about 40 minutes into Starship’s flight, and all 26 satellites—which have solar panels that stretch 60 meters end to end when fully deployed—safely made it into orbit, where they will now use onboard propulsion to raise their altitude.
This means that Starship is now an operational, orbital rocket. It is the largest and most powerful machine humans have ever launched into space. The challenge for the company now is to make Starship reusable and dramatically increase its flight rate.
A massive crowd watched as Starship landed flawlessly, and the crowd broke out in chants of “USA, USA,” while Player’s song ‘Baby Come Back’ played in the background.
Watch:
Mechazilla catches Starship! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on this incredible achievement! https://t.co/YJzmGUZb2B
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 14, 2026
Following the success, one commenter noted, “We caught a Starship, and now everything changes.”
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