Overview
- Ship 42 completed roughly 14 orbits and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites before reentering and being gripped by the launch‑tower "chopstick" arms on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
- The Super Heavy booster, Booster 22, autonomously aborted its planned tower catch about 6.5 minutes after liftoff and was destroyed by its flight termination system after steering itself to a contingency splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
- SpaceX and Elon Musk said engines slightly underperformed and left the booster short of propellant, and the company has proposed hardware and software fixes including tighter Raptor V3.2 engine consistency and an earlier engine cutoff by about one second.
- Flight controllers cleared the upper stage for return after reviewing heat‑shield imagery from onboard and Starlink cameras, and temporary aviation restrictions tied to the mission were later lifted.
- The catch marks a major step toward full Starship reusability that could cut launch costs, speed Starlink expansion and affect NASA Artemis planning, even as engineers continue investigations into engine performance, guidance and propellant‑margin faults.