SpaceX Calls Off Booster Catch on Starship's 15th Test Flight

The rocket lifted off at 4:47 p.m. local time, or 5:47 p.m. ET. The flight was SpaceX's first attempt to recover both stages of the vehicle at the launch site, and the upper stage remained on course for a tower catch at the end of a mission planned to last more than 22 hours. No reason for the booster abort had been given by Friday evening.

Catching both stages is central to SpaceX's plan to make Starship fully reusable, which underpins its economics for lifting cargo and eventually people to the Moon and Mars. In the nearer term the company needs Starship to expand Starlink, its satellite internet service and its main source of profit. SpaceX has said one Starship can carry up to 60 Starlink V3 satellites, about 20 times the capacity of its Falcon 9 rockets. The constellation already has more than 11,000 active satellites in low Earth orbit.

The upper stage reached orbit after separating from the booster about two minutes into the flight. "We've got a nominal orbit insertion, so Starship now in orbit around Earth for the second time ever," SpaceX's Dan Huot said during the company's broadcast, according to Space.com. The ship was carrying 26 Starlink V3 satellites, the same number it released on the previous test flight, and had begun deploying them, according to Space.com's live coverage. SpaceX framed the deployment on X as part of its goal of "Starlink becoming 51% of the internet."

The flight plan calls for about 14 orbits before re-entry roughly 22.5 hours after liftoff, when SpaceX intends to catch the ship with the tower it calls Mechazilla. That attempt is likely on Saturday.

Analysts played down the booster setback. "SpaceX is likely a full decade ahead of peers on this front," William Blair analysts wrote in a note on Friday. "Even if tonight's catch is unsuccessful, a delay by a few months is not that consequential."

The launch went ahead on a day of disruption in US airspace. SpaceX received authorisation from the Federal Aviation Administration earlier on Friday, and hours later the FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop after communication problems at several air traffic control centres. An FAA spokesperson told CNBC that SpaceX's launch licence was not affected.

The company, whose shares trade on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, is also facing criticism in Washington over restrictions on Starshield, the military version of its satellite internet service, in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week that Ukrainian forces had again faced limits on the service without warning, hampering their defence against Russian air attacks, and some US senators have urged Congress to investigate.

The outcome of the ship catch, expected about 22.5 hours after Friday's liftoff, will determine whether SpaceX can claim recovery of at least one stage at the launch site on this flight.