November 15, 2026: A Super Heavy booster from Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship rocket exploded over the Gulf of Mexico before crashing into the sea, disrupting a planned recovery attempt.
According to media reports, SpaceX had intended to recover the rocket’s first-stage booster using giant mechanical arms, known as “chopsticks,” installed at its launch tower in Boca Chica, Texas.
However, during its return, the booster was diverted away from the launch site instead of attempting the planned tower catch.
The booster briefly hovered above the Gulf of Mexico before erupting into a fireball and falling into the water.
The incident represented a setback for SpaceX’s efforts to develop a fully reusable Starship launch system.
SpaceX aims to recover and reuse both stages of Starship to reduce launch costs and support more frequent space missions.
The company’s long-term plans include using Starship for missions to the Moon and Mars.
The reported explosion highlights the technical challenges involved in recovering large rocket boosters, particularly during the final stages of their descent.
However, the mission also achieved a historic milestone: the Starship upper stage was successfully caught by the launch tower’s mechanical arms on November 14 after returning from orbit. The booster failure therefore did not mean the entire mission failed.
SpaceX said an early low-fuel warning may have contributed to the booster abandoning its planned tower landing, although the precise cause remains under investigation.