Wire reporting: (AP, via WSVN 7), (Reuters, via CNA)

SpaceX launched Starship on its 15th test flight from Starbase in South Texas on Friday afternoon, sending the upper stage into orbit while aborting a planned catch of the Super Heavy booster, which was sent to the Gulf of Mexico^1,2,7.

Space.com said Flight 15 lifted off at 5:47 p.m. ET; the BBC put liftoff at 1645 local time at Boca Chica^1,2. The stack rose on Super Heavy’s 33 Raptor 3 engines, completed hot-staging about 2.5 minutes after launch, and the ship later reached orbit, the second time a Starship has done so, Space.com reported¹.

SpaceX had planned to catch Super Heavy with the launch tower’s mechanical arms about 6.5 minutes after liftoff^1,2. The company called off that attempt and brought the booster down for a splashdown in the Gulf, Space.com said, for reasons that were not immediately clear¹. The BBC said the stage was diverted to the ocean and burst into flames as it came down². RTE News said it hovered then exploded a short distance over the sea⁵. WSVN reported the booster fell into the Gulf and exploded⁷.

"We've got a nominal orbit insertion, so Starship now in orbit around Earth for the second time ever," SpaceX’s Dan Huot said on the webcast, according to Space.com¹.

Ship deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites on a schedule that began 35 minutes after launch over about 42 minutes, Space.com said¹. RTE said SpaceX reported all 26 were released within the first two hours⁵. SpaceX has said the batch adds about a terabit of constellation capacity, equivalent to 10 Falcon 9 Starlink V2 launches, Space.com reported¹.

A SpaceX spokesperson said on the launch stream that safety is the top priority while testing maneuvers the vehicles have not done before, the BBC reported². WSVN quoted commentator Kate Tice saying the booster news was not what the company had hoped to hear and that it fit pad-protection checks⁷.

The original goal was to recover both stages at the pad on one flight, which SpaceX has not done^2,4,7. WSVN said SpaceX had already caught a booster three times at Starbase and that this was the first catch try for the upgraded 236-foot Super Heavy and the first planned catch of the 171-foot ship⁷. Space.com said a successful booster catch would have been the first recovery of a Version 3 Super Heavy¹.

If Ship systems stay healthy, SpaceX still plans a return to Starbase on Saturday, about 22 hours after launch, for a possible tower catch of the upper stage^1,2,5. Space.com said the profile includes about 14 orbits and contingency Pacific returns; a 10-second deorbit burn would come near T+21 hours 36 minutes, with a catch targeted around 4:17 p.m. EST Saturday¹. The BBC described 14 orbits and a possible catch 22.5 hours after liftoff². WSVN said about 15 laps at roughly 170 miles altitude⁷.

CBS News described the 22-hour flight as a step toward a fully reusable orbit-class rocket³. NASA is paying SpaceX to use Starship as a crewed lunar lander, with Blue Origin also under contract; WSVN said NASA expects to choose between Starship and Blue Moon a year before Artemis IV, and that Artemis III next summer is to include Earth-orbit docking practice⁷. What caused the booster abort, and whether Ship will be cleared to return to the tower, had not been established in the reports reviewed^1,2,5.

IOL later reported that spokesman Dan Huot said the booster aborted itself for a guidance, navigation and control issue it detected, then diverted to the Gulf of Mexico and automatically self-destructed before hitting the water¹⁶. SpaceX said about seven hours after launch that Starship and its heat shield were healthy, and Huot said the company was not tracking issues with the vehicle or the range for the return¹⁶. IOL said recovery was planned around 3:20 p.m. Saturday after more than 22 hours of flight, and that commentator Kate Tice said the company would attempt a catch only if the ship passed system checks¹⁶. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated SpaceX on the launch, IOL reported, without addressing the booster outcome¹⁶.

A later Space.com livestream preview said the first-ever Ship chopsticks catch was still scheduled around 4:20 p.m. EST Saturday (3:20 p.m. local Texas time), about 22.5 hours after liftoff, and that SpaceX would scrap the attempt if it detected anything off-nominal¹⁷. That piece still described the Super Heavy diversion 6.5 minutes after launch as unexplained¹⁷.

ABC13 Houston, reporting from South Padre Island, said SpaceX attributed the missed booster catch to a guidance, navigation and control issue that auto-aborted the attempt, after which Super Heavy diverted to the Gulf and activated its Flight Termination System, producing an auto-destruct before splashdown that the company said worked as intended¹⁸. The station said SpaceX still hoped to catch the ship at about 3 p.m. Saturday after nearly 24 hours aloft, and that the company has not previously caught a Starship spacecraft in South Texas¹⁸.

A Reuters headline later said Starship was nearing the end of its 15th test flight and a return-landing attempt; this desk could not read the full Reuters article¹⁹.

WGN carried Associated Press copy saying the Super Heavy booster was diverted to the Gulf of Mexico and exploded after liftoff while the spacecraft still reached orbit, and that SpaceX still aims to recover both stages for reuse²⁰²¹.

The New York Times ran a live blog titled as covering a SpaceX attempt at a milestone rocket landing; this desk could not read the full live updates and cites only the page title and a Nov. 13 background item on Boca Chica Village becoming Starbase, by Kenneth Chang²².

Engadget said SpaceX was still aiming for a first Ship catch shortly after 4 p.m. ET Saturday, after deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites, and that Super Heavy aborted to the Gulf and exploded before hitting the water²³.

France 24, with AFP, said Huot reported Saturday that the ship still looked healthy and that a catch at Starbase remained on track, with a decision about two hours before a 3:18 p.m. (2118 GMT) return²⁴. The same report said the booster aborted because it was not in the right place for a catch, that engineers were still investigating, and that the return would include more than 20 minutes of overland flight during which operators cannot intervene²⁴.

CNBC later said SpaceX still planned to catch the ship with the Starbase tower arms around 3:20 p.m. local time, or 4:20 p.m. ET, Saturday after about 14 orbits²⁵. It said Super Heavy exploded before hitting the Gulf, that 26 Starlink v3 satellites were deployed into a constellation already above 11,000, and that Hawaii's transportation department briefly paused some West Coast flights Friday over debris risk, an order later lifted²⁵. CNBC separately noted an FAA nationwide ground stop tied to telecommunications failures, not to the launch, that had also been lifted²⁵.

A later Space.com report said SpaceX was still investigating why Booster 22 aborted the chopsticks catch, after Huot said on Friday that the team had been initially go for a catch and that the booster then aborted itself during the later coast for a detected GNC issue and diverted offshore²⁷. The same article said all 33 Super Heavy engines fired as planned on ascent and that the booster exploded a few feet above the Gulf about 6.5 minutes after liftoff²⁷. An editor's note at 11:50 a.m. ET on Nov. 14 said Huot later clarified that the booster tower-catch abort was not caused by a GNC issue²⁷.

SpaceX hosted an X broadcast titled as catching Starship to end Flight 15; as this desk fetched the page, the stream had ended and the extractable text did not independently confirm the catch outcome²⁶.

The Associated Press, via The Philadelphia Inquirer, later said Starship returned Saturday and was caught by the launch tower's mechanical arms at Starbase after about 22 hours, the first capture of a Starship flying back from space (AP, via The Philadelphia Inquirer)²⁸. The same AP account said the company still missed a double catch because the Super Heavy booster exploded after Friday's liftoff, with wreckage remaining in the Gulf of Mexico²⁸.

That AP copy said SpaceX's Kate Tice attributed the booster outcome to engines stopping too soon on the way down, with the guidance system sensing the stage was out of position and initiating a watery detour and self-destruction, and that engineers were still investigating²⁸. It said the spacecraft completed 14 orbits at about 165 miles, that SpaceX reported the ship including its heat shield appeared to work well, and that NASA welcomed the catch news while still planning Starship for Artemis landings later this decade²⁸.

KSAT carried an earlier Associated Press package on Friday's launch that still described the Saturday pad return as ahead after the booster fell into the Gulf and exploded, without confirming a completed ship catch (AP, via KSAT)²⁹.

NPR later reported that Starship returned to the Texas pad Saturday and was secured by the launch tower's two metal arms after about 22 hours, while Super Heavy still exploded after Friday's abort, leaving wreckage in the Gulf³⁰.

The Verge said SpaceX captured the ship with Mechazilla's arms for the first time, after aborting the booster catch, and that video showed the vehicle flip vertical and ease between the arms around 4:20 p.m. ET³¹. It said the company had previously caught boosters but not the Starship vehicle itself, and that SpaceX was still investigating the Gulf abort³¹.

Local 10, ClickOrlando and ClickOnDetroit carried the same Associated Press account as The Philadelphia Inquirer, reporting a Saturday tower catch after about 22 hours and a missed double catch after the booster explosion (AP, via Local 10)^32,33,34,28.

SCMP said Starship 42 returned Saturday and slipped between chopstick arms above Launch Pad 2 at Starbase after a day in orbit³⁵. DW said the spacecraft returned to the tower it left Friday, calling it the first key recovery of the system's centerpiece vessel, and that NASA welcomed the news³⁶.

Arab News carried the same Associated Press account, reporting a Saturday midair catch at the Texas pad after about 22 hours and a missed double catch after the booster explosion (AP, via Arab News)³⁷.

CNA, carrying Reuters, said Starship returned Saturday after 14 orbits and more than 22 hours, then reignited three engines to flip vertical so the tower's chopstick arms could clasp it as it hovered (Reuters, via CNA)³⁸. The same report said SpaceX has still not recovered both stages on one mission and that Starship's heat-shield tiles are not yet fully reusable³⁸.

A later BBC video package said the Ship was caught at about 15:27 local time Saturday (21:27 GMT), a few minutes behind schedule, after crowds at the Texas site watched the tower arms grab the returning stage³⁹.

WFLA and KSAT carried the same Associated Press account as earlier AP clients, reporting a Saturday tower catch after about 22 hours and a missed double catch after the booster explosion (AP, via WFLA)^40,41.

ABC30 later carried the same Associated Press account, reporting a Saturday tower catch after about 22 hours and a missed double catch after the booster explosion (AP, via ABC30)⁴².

KXAN carried an earlier Associated Press package by Marcia Dunn that still described Friday's booster Gulf explosion and an orbital Ship, with Saturday's pad return as ahead rather than completed (AP, via KXAN)⁴³.

ABC News Australia, carrying Reuters, said Starship 42 returned Saturday after deploying 26 Starlink satellites, then slowed from about 27,000 kilometers per hour, reignited three engines to flip vertical, and was clasped by two mechanical arms as it hovered (Reuters, via ABC News Australia)⁴⁴. The same report said Super Heavy had failed a similar return about 10 minutes after Friday's liftoff, that the ship completed 14 orbits over more than 22 hours, and that SpaceX has still not recovered both stages on one mission⁴⁴.

The Guardian posted a Saturday piece whose headline said Starship had returned to the Texas launch pad from orbit; this desk could not read the full article⁴⁵. CNA reported the ship returned Saturday after about 22 hours, fell through clouds over Starbase, reignited engines to go vertical, and was held by the tower's mechanical arms while Super Heavy still failed a similar return about 10 minutes after Friday's liftoff⁴⁶.

WSVN later carried the Associated Press account of a Saturday tower catch after about 22 hours and a missed double catch after the booster explosion (AP, via WSVN 7)⁴⁷. The Associated Press published the same catch report on its own site⁴⁸.

USA Today said the ship descended over Mexico, swung over the Gulf, then ignited engines for a controlled catch at Starbase⁴⁹. It quoted Musk congratulating the team and said he later wrote that the booster may have been running low on fuel, with telemetry still to be reviewed, and that the loss does not change SpaceX's timeline for high-volume reusable flights⁴⁹. USA Today also said Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center is expected to be ready later this month, with no Florida launch date set⁴⁹.