SpaceX launches first-of-its-kind Starship test flight

November 13, 2026 / 6:03 PM EST / CBS News Add CBS News on Google SpaceX launched its huge Starship rocket on the program's 15th test flight Friday on a 22-hour mission. If successful, the flight will mark a critical step in the development of the world's first fully reusable orbit-class rocket.Loaded with 8 million pounds of supercold liquid oxygen and methane fuel, the rocket's 236-foot-tall first stage, powered by 33 methane-burning Raptor engines, roared to life and majestically propelled the booster away from SpaceX's Starbase launch site on the Texas Gulf Coast at 5:45 p.m. EST. SpaceX Super Heavy-Starship rocket launches from Starbase in Texas on Nov. 13, 2026. SpaceX Arcing away to the southeast, the Super Heavy booster was expected to propel the 407-foot-tall rocket out of the thick lower atmosphere before falling away about two minutes and 20 seconds after liftoff.While the 171-foot-tall Starship continued the climb to space using six Raptors of its own, the booster was programmed to flip around, fire up 13 engines to reverse course and head back to the launch site. But it did not make the landing and instead the booster splashed down in the waters offshore.The flight plan called for the Starship, meanwhile, to follow a sub-orbital trajectory, ensuring a safe ocean splashdown in case of problems while giving SpaceX flight controllers time to assess its health before committing to a final push to orbit.After an 18-minute coast, and assuming no problems, the flight plan called for a single Raptor to re-ignite for a short 10-second burn to push the craft into its planned orbit. Eight-and-a-half minutes after that, the first of 26 upgraded version 3 Starlink internet satellites was expected to be pushed out into space to fly on its own.For the rest of the flight, controllers planned to closely monitor the Starship, periodically assessing its health to make sure it could be safely de-orbited in case of problems that might prevent a safe return-to-launch site capture at the same pad where it launched Friday atop the Super Heavy booster. It will be SpaceX's first attempt to get a Starship back to its pad for possible refurbishment and re-launch. "During this prolonged coast phase, flight control teams have several options to end the mission early and return Starship to pre-cleared areas of the Pacific Ocean if needed," SpaceX said on its web page."These locations include early- and late-mission splashdown options around Hawaii and a mid-mission splashdown opportunity several hundred kilometers off the coast of Chile. These pre-cleared areas ... provide a safe place to land Starship if any conditions arise that may preclude the ability to perform a safe reentry."An hour after a final "return check" Saturday, a single Raptor is expected to fire at 3:21 p.m. to lower the far side of the Starship's orbit deep into the atmosphere for a 56-minute belly-first re-entry and return to the Texas Gulf Coast."During reentry, Starship can alter its flight path by moving its four control flaps," the company said. "This will permit Starship to maintain a safe and known trajectory while guiding itself with high precision control toward Starbase." As it descends, the Starship will carry out "a series of small turns in its trajectory to intentionally fly over sparsely populated areas of northern Mexico and southern Texas.""As Starship approaches Starbase from the west, the vehicle will weave its way around the major cities in the Rio Grande Valley, passing to the north of South Padre Island and out over the Gulf ... as it makes its final turn south towards Starbase."Nearing the launch pad, the 171-foot-tall Starship will first three Raptors to flip upright. Once the maneuver is complete, one Raptor will be shut down as the rocket descends between the gantry's mechanical arms. Finally, with just one engine firing to slow the rocket to a near stop, the mechanical arms will move in to snag the spacecraft.But all of that depends on a problem-free descent. If any problems develop that might lead to an uncontrolled landing, flight controllers can ensure a vehicle breakup before it has any chance to reach a populated area."During reentry, flight controllers will have several options to end the reentry early and safely by intentionally tumbling Starship to ensure that it breaks up in the atmosphere before reaching land," SpaceX said."There is also a late-reentry option to send Starship into the Gulf ... if any of its systems or the tower itself encounter an issue after reentry that would preclude a safe catch at Starbase."SpaceX calls development of a fully reusable rocket "the holy grail of rocketry," opening the door to airplane-like cadence where a vehicle flies again rapidly. NASA is counting on a variant of the Starship to carry Artemis astronauts to the lunar surface in 2028. But the rocket's development has taken longer than initially expected and the space agency is now hedging its bets, saying it's open to using Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 2 lander depending on which spacecraft is ready. In: Elon Musk Artemis Program Space SpaceX