LIFTOFF! SpaceX launches Starship Flight 15, booster aborts tower catch and splashes down

SpaceX launched Starship Flight 15 from Starbase, Texas, on Friday, November 13, at 5:47 p.m. ET, carrying 26 Starlink V3 satellites. About two minutes after liftoff, Starship’s Raptor engines ignited and the ship separated from the Super Heavy booster, which turned back toward Starbase for the first planned tower catch of a Super Heavy V3 booster. However, the catch was aborted, and the booster went down in the Gulf of Mexico about 6.5 minutes after liftoff, where it exploded. SpaceX has not yet issued a statement explaining the change in the booster-catch maneuver. Starship reached orbit about 170 miles above Earth about 26 minutes after liftoff. Video Credit: SpaceX