SpaceX Starship Achieves Rare Orbital Milestone on Flight 15 as Saturday Catch Attempt Looms

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. launched Starship Flight 15 from Starbase, Texas, on Friday at 5:47 p.m. ET, aiming for a difficult double-catch test of both rocket stages. Although the upper stage successfully achieved orbit at 6:13 p.m. ET—marking only the second time the company has accomplished this feat—the lower Super Heavy booster was diverted off the coast and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico before bursting into flames. SpaceX has not yet disclosed details regarding the booster anomaly.

During the flight, the upper stage successfully began deploying a payload of 26 latest-generation Starlink satellites. SpaceX's Dan Huot highlighted the orbital insertion as a major highlight during the live broadcast. Company plans indicate a potential atmospheric reentry and upper-stage catch attempt scheduled for Saturday at 4:17 p.m. ET, provided all necessary guidance systems remain healthy.

The broader Starship initiative is central to SpaceX's long-term growth and valuation thesis. While the company generated $14.6 billion in total revenue during the third quarter, with the space segment contributing $1.8 billion, an operational Starship is designed to rapidly accelerate Starlink deployment in the near term. Over the long horizon, achieving full and rapid reusability is expected to drastically lower launch costs for enterprise and government contracts, shifting the economics of spaceflight compared to the partially reusable Falcon 9.

SpaceX is targeting full Starship capabilities by late 2027, though the program has historically faced numerous development delays. A successful catch sequence over the weekend would provide crucial momentum for investors tracking the heavy-lift program's progress.

What to watch next: Monitor Saturday's scheduled afternoon reentry and upper-stage catch attempt.