SpaceX catches Starship upper stage in historic first

SpaceX caught the Starship upper stage on its launch tower at Starbase on Saturday, the first time the ship has been recovered that way, completing test flight 15 after the booster was lost in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday.

Why it matters: Catching the ship from orbit is the step that makes the upper stage reusable rather than expendable, and it closes a flight that also put a full load of 26 Starlink V3 satellites into orbit.

Data as of Updated November 14, 2026 with CNBC's report of the same afternoon, read in full via the estate browser route after a direct fetch was blocked: the ship was caught on the Starbase tower on Saturday after about 14 orbits; CNBC gives no clock time for the catch itself. TASS, in Russian, also reported the catch the same day. France 24's account could not be opened in the browser. Earlier: updated November 13, 2026 with Ars Technica's report of the same evening, read in full via the estate browser route: the ship reached a nominal orbit, all 26 Starlink V3 satellites deployed about 40 minutes into the flight, the booster was commanded to divert into the Gulf over an unspecified issue, and a first catch attempt of the ship is possible on Saturday at about 3:15 p.m. Texas time if in-orbit and return health checks pass. Earlier: TASS and RIA Novosti reports of November 14, 2026 (Moscow time), in Russian, read in full via the estate browser route, both citing SpaceX's own flight broadcast. Developing item.

Latest. SpaceX caught the Starship upper stage on the launch tower at Starbase, Texas, on Saturday, the first time the ship has been recovered by the tower’s mechanical arms, CNBC reported. The ship had continued into orbit after Friday’s launch, deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, and flew around the Earth about 14 times before returning to the tower. The Super Heavy booster was not recovered: it was diverted on Friday to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico, where it exploded. The catch completes test flight 15, the first flight in which SpaceX attempted to catch both stages.

SpaceX launched Starship on its fifteenth test flight from its South Texas spaceport on Friday evening, attempting for the first time to return both stages to the launch site for tower catches, the double catch Elon Musk had set out before the flight. Less than ten minutes after launch the plan changed: the Super Heavy booster, which carries 33 engines, splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico instead of returning to the Mechazilla tower, and the broadcast host said the change was due to strict safety requirements, with the reasons not yet known.

The Starship ship continued its flight, expected to last about 22 hours and roughly 14 orbits, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites along the way. SpaceX still intends to try catching the ship itself for the first time when it returns, which would be a first even with the booster catch missed.

SpaceX catches Starship upper stage in historic first

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