SpaceX setback for Elon Musk as attempt to catch booster rocket ends in fireball - but firm still hopes to grab Starship spacecraft with giant chopsticks

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An unspecified problem forced SpaceX to abort the recovery of the booster for the world's most powerful rocket, the Starship, but the company still hopes it can pull off its first 'catch' of the spaceship.

Published: 10:29 GMT, 14 November 2026 | Updated: 10:32 GMT, 14 November 2026

Elon Musk's SpaceX programme suffered yet another setback on Friday after an attempt to recover a booster rocket ended in a huge fireball.

An unspecified problem forced SpaceX to abort the recovery of the booster for the world's biggest and most powerful rocket, the Starship, but the company still hopes it can pull off its first 'catch' of the spaceship.

The 124m (407ft) Starship roared into the sky from Starbase in southern Texas for its 15th test flight, but minutes later, the landmark nature of the mission went awry.

After lift-off and the mid-air separation of the two stages, an issue with the Super Heavy booster forced SpaceX to divert it to an 'offshore splashdown' – scuttling what would have been a groundbreaking twin capture of both components of the rocket.

The plan had been to catch the rocket in two 'chopstick' mechanical arms, but instead, a fireball erupted as the booster fell into the Gulf of Mexico near the launch site.

'Not sure right now why we weren't able to bring it back,' SpaceX's Dan Huot said.

Meanwhile, the Starship spacecraft that gives the rocket system its name entered Earth's orbit, where it is expected to circle the globe 14 times before returning on Saturday.

'Starship and its heatshield are healthy as the vehicle continues to orbit Earth,' SpaceX said around seven hours after the mission started.

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