SpaceX abandons Super Heavy booster catch after malfunction during Starship Flight 15

SpaceX's Super Heavy booster suffered a malfunction during Starship Flight 15, forcing an automatic abort that diverted the rocket's first stage into the Gulf of Mexico instead of allowing it to return for a planned catch at the launch tower.

The booster malfunctioned shortly after separating from the Ship upper stage. The automatic abort redirected it towards the Gulf, where it completed an offshore landing. This ended SpaceX's attempt to recover both stages of Starship during the same mission.

The precise cause of the malfunction remains unclear. SpaceX has not yet provided details about what went wrong with the upgraded Super Heavy V3 booster or which system triggered the abort.

The booster was supposed to return to Starbase in South Texas, where two giant mechanical arms, known as Chopsticks, would catch it at the launch tower.

The flight marked the first attempt by a V3 Super Heavy booster to return for a tower catch. SpaceX has previously demonstrated successful recovery of three earlier Super Heavy boosters.

Recovering and reusing the booster is central to the company's goal of developing a fully reusable launch system. A successful tower catch could reduce the need for offshore recovery operations and speed up preparations for subsequent flights.

Meanwhile, the Ship upper stage is continuing its separate mission. It is expected to deploy 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites and complete around 14 orbits before returning to Starbase.

SpaceX is still targeting a tower catch of the Ship upper stage at 2.45 am IST on November 15. This would mark the first recovery of an orbital Starship upper stage at the launch site.

The booster malfunction does not determine the outcome of the separate recovery attempt.