Starship nails 15th flight, reaches orbit and sets up Saturday catch
SpaceX's Starship blasted off from South Texas on Friday evening, acing its 15th test flight and powering into a nominal orbit. It's only the second time the rocket has reached low-Earth orbit, and the launch tees up a possible catch attempt on Saturday.
- Original source: arstechnica.com.
- The source published it on Nov 14, 2026 at 12:49 AM.
- No second outlet has reported it yet. Treat it as a single-source claim.
Starship lifted off right on schedule Friday from Starbase in South Texas, marking SpaceX's 15th test flight of the vehicle in more than three years. The early-evening launch unfolded as the Sun dropped toward the western horizon, and the atmospheric winds were so calm that the rocket's white plume hung in the sky for many minutes.
The first stage climbed toward space flawlessly, releasing the upper stage above the Gulf of Mexico. From there, the Starship upper stage fired up its Raptor engines and pushed its way into a nominal orbit — only the second time SpaceX has flown Starship into low-Earth orbit.
The flight sets up a possible catch attempt on Saturday, according to Ars Technica. Conditions at Starbase were ideal for Friday's launch, a sharp contrast to the long, hot South Texas summers that can complicate launch weather.
TopicsSpaceX · Starship · Starbase · Raptor · South Texas · Gulf of Mexico · Ars Technica
Source: arstechnica.com
Written by Paparazzi with AI. Not financial advice.
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