SpaceX is due to launch its massive Starship rocket once again in November.
In a matter of days, the world's largest rocket could get off the ground for the 15th time since April 2023 from SpaceX's headquarters in South Texas.
And this time, the commercial spaceflight company founded in 2002 by tech mogul Elon Musk, has a crucial objective for Starship: "catching" both stages of the rocket as they make controlled returns to the launch site.
The milestone would mark a major step in SpaceX's quest to make Starship fully reusable as it races to develop the rocket for human spaceflight missions to both the moon and Mars. Musk also says the vehicle will be vital to SpaceX's plans to improve and expand its Starlink satellite network.
As SpaceX works toward
a Nov. 13 launch of Starship, here's a look back at Starship's path to what could be one of its most important test flights yet.
Sept. 28, 2026: Starship reaches orbit
Starship's most recent test flight on Sept. 28 marked the first time the upper stage of the rocket reached orbit in more than three years of testing at its Starbase headquarters in South Texas, located about 23 miles from Brownsville near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Shortly after liftoff, the Super Heavy booster separated from the upper section of the rocket for a water landing in the Gulf of Mexico, renamed in the United States under executive order as the Gulf of America.
The upper-stage, designated as Ship 41, then went on to fly in orbit during a mission that ended after about three hours with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, SpaceX wrote in a mission recap. Landing in a nose-up position, the vehicle – which SpaceX had no plans of recovering – tipped onto its side and ignited in a large fireball.
During the mission, Starship also deployed 26 next-generation Starlink satellites one by one at an altitude of about 161 miles high. They were expected to raise their orbits and begin serving customers weeks after deployment, SpaceX said.
July 24, 2026: Starship upper section lands intact in ocean
SpaceX launched its Starship rocket July 24 on a mission that saw the upper stage land intact in the Indian Ocean.
Powered by 33 of SpaceX's Raptor-class engines, the booster provided the initial burst of thrust at liftoff before separating from the upper stage minutes after launch and making a water landing in the Gulf. While the booster was able to make a controlled landing, it was traveling faster than intended and made what the company later referred to as a "hard splashdown."
The upper-stage had a much longer flight, using its own six Raptor engines to fly halfway around the world before landing in the Indian Ocean. Along the way, the vehicle successfully deployed 20 third-generation Starlink satellites, which communicated with the rest of the Starlink network before they burned up in Earth's atmosphere as intended.
Significantly, the upper-stage, designated Ship 40, was able to slowly tip over and float in the ocean without exploding or sinking, as prior prototypes have done. That allowed SpaceX to haul the vehicle to shore near Australia and begin efforts to transport it all the way back to Starbase.
May 22, 2026: SpaceX debuts Version 3
SpaceX launched its Starship rocket for the first time in 2026 on May 22.
After the Super Heavy booster separated, the upper stage flew halfway around the world before landing and exploding in the Indian Ocean. Along the way, Starship succeeded in deploying 20 mock versions of SpaceX's Starlink satellites and two modified satellites that, in a major first, imaged Starship while it climbed into space.
While the flight was largely a success, the Federal Aviation Administration did require a mishap investigation after SpaceX reported that the first-stage booster known as Super Heavy experienced a performance failure that resulted in an uncontrolled landing.
Oct. 13, 2025: SpaceX ends year on high note
Starship got off the ground for the last time in 2025 on Oct. 13.
The launch system vehicle's lower stage, known as Super Heavy, ignited all of its 33 Raptor-class engines as it propelled the upper stage high above the Texas coast. Starship’s upper stage, the vehicle where crew and cargo would one day ride, separated within a few minutes of liftoff to fire its own six Raptor engines and continue on a lower suborbital trajectory, according to SpaceX.
As it flew halfway around the world, the vehicle deployed mock Starlink internet satellites for the second time in a row and relighted a Raptor engine in space for the third time ever in a necessary maneuver to one day bring a vehicle back to the ground.
The vehicle eventually succeeded in making a planned splashdown about an hour after liftoff in the Indian Ocean west of Australia.
The rocket booster, known as Super Heavy, returned to make a water landing about seven minutes after launch in the Gulf of America.
Aug. 26, 2025: SpaceX conducts most successful Starship test of the year
SpaceX's Aug. 26, 2025 Starship launch – coming on the heels of three consecutive flights in which the vehicle exploded prematurely – was also its most successful test of the vehicle in 2025.
In that test, the upper stage, the vehicle known as Starship, separated from the rocket booster about three minutes into the flight to continue on its own on a suborbital trajectory. The vehicle then hit two major milestones by deploying eight mock Starlink satellites and reigniting one of its Raptor engines in space for the second time ever, a necessary maneuver to bring a vehicle back to the ground.
Re-entering Earth's atmosphere about an hour into the mission over the Indian Ocean, Starship then fired its engines to make a controlled vertical landing on the ocean's surface west of Australia before exploding in a fireball.
As for Super Heavy, the rocket booster made a water landing as planned off the Texas coast after completing several in-flight experiments.
May 27, 2025: Starship travels furthest distance of the year before exploding
After lifting off May 27, the upper stage vehicle, simply known as Starship, streaked through suborbital space – far surpassing the previous 2025 flights in January and March. But the Starship vehicle still met an untimely end when it spun out of control about halfway through its flight without achieving some of its most important objectives.
The mission got off to a positive start, with the successful first-ever launch of a rocket booster – known as Super Heavy – that had flown during a previous flight in January. Reusing a booster was an important milestone for SpaceX to demonstrate that the rocket can be flown multiple times.
The Starship spacecraft managed to separate from the booster and fire its six Raptor engines to propel itself on a trajectory taking it into space as it soared around the world.
Starship’s ninth flight test marked a major milestone for reuse with the first flight-proven Super Heavy booster launching from Starbase, and once more returned Starship to space → https://t.co/Gufroc2kUz pic.twitter.com/RNJkj5OobP
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 28, 2025
But contact with Starship was lost approximately 46 minutes into the flight as it spun out of control and once again came apart. The debris fell into the Indian Ocean, far from inhabited areas, SpaceX said.
The company was also unable to deploy test Starlink satellites.
As for the Super Heavy booster, SpaceX lost contact with the lower-stage during its descent about six minutes after launch.
In three different test missions since October 2024, SpaceX has successfully flown and caught the booster back at the launch site using a pair of mechanical arms nicknamed "chopsticks." This time, SpaceX had no plans to recover the booster as it instead sought to push its performance beyond what has so far been attempted.
But rather than making a controlled splashdown as planned, the booster came apart in the air – what SpaceX refers to as "a rapid unscheduled disassembly" – and plummeted into the Gulf of Mexico.
March 6, 2025: Starship explodes for second consecutive time
On March 6, flight operators lost contact with the 165-foot upper portion of the vehicle, which exploded less than 10 minutes into the flight, creating debris visible from Florida to the Caribbean.
The explosion occurred despite SpaceX assuring that what mission teams learned from the seventh flight prompted them to make several modifications to the vehicle.
In a report released May 22 to the Federal Aviation Administration, SpaceX said mission operators noticed a "flash" close to the bottom section of Starship about five-and-a-half minutes into the vehicle's ascent burn, followed by what SpaceX called "an energetic event" that led to the loss of one of its Raptor engines.
Within about two minutes, the remaining five of the vehicle's six Raptor engines also subsequently shut down, causing the vehicle to veer out of control. This led to the communication breakdown and the vehicle to trigger its own self destruction, SpaceX concluded.
SpaceX identified "the most probable root cause" of the mishap as a hardware failure in one of the upper stage's Raptor engines "that resulted in inadvertent propellant mixing and ignition."
Despite the failure of the Starship vehicle, the spacecraft's 232-foot Super Heavy rocket booster managed to once again navigate back to the launch pad for the third time ever. The maneuver involves SpaceX catching the booster with giant mechanical arms known as chopsticks.
Having the capability of catching the Starship booster is crucial for SpaceX, giving the company a completely reusable booster that is able to launch again.
Jan. 16, 2025: First Starship launch of the year comes to fiery end
The first Starship demonstration of the year also ended in a fiery explosion after the Starship vehicle was lost during its suborbital flight.
Mission controllers lost contact with the spacecraft within 8 1/2 minutes of its flight before determining that it was destroyed in what the company called a “rapid unscheduled disassembly.” Video on social media showed the explosion and its aftermath as remains of the spacecraft were seen breaking up in what looked like a stunning meteor shower.
SpaceX, which conducted an investigation with the FAA, determined that the mishap was due to a series of propellant leaks and fires in the aft section of the vehicle that caused “all but one of Starship’s engines to execute controlled shut down sequences." This led to the communication breakdown and the vehicle to trigger its own self destruction.
Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed! ✨
— Kekius Maximus (@elonmusk) January 16, 2025
pic.twitter.com/nn3PiP8XwG
On his social media site X, Musk made light of the fiery end.
"Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!" Musk posted, along with a user video of the Starship debris raining down near the Atlantic Ocean. He added in another post that "improved versions" of the spaceship and booster are "already waiting for launch."
The launch did end with one major accomplishment – the second-ever successful return of the rocket booster to the launch pad.
Nov. 19, 2024: Trump in attendance; booster catch called off
The final Starship flight test of 2024 took place in front of a newly re-elected President Donald Trump.
The Starship began its projected trajectory at 5 p.m. ET over the Gulf of Mexico, since renamed by the U.S. government as the Gulf of America, following a similar suborbital path as previous flights. The rocket booster splashed down off the coast of Texas seven minutes after launch.
The Starship vehicle itself flew for more than an hour before splashing down at 6:05 p.m. ET in the Indian Ocean.
With data and flight learnings as our primary payload, Starship’s sixth flight test once again delivered → https://t.co/oIFc3u9laE pic.twitter.com/O6ZKThQRr6
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 20, 2024
As for the booster, SpaceX officials had hoped to replicate what they did for the first time in the previous test, steering it back autonomously to the landing pad before catching it with two giant mechanical arms. But during the flight, officials opted to skip the complex maneuver for safety reasons.
In an update on its website, SpaceX attributed the decision to data from "automated health checks" of hardware on both the launch and catch tower.
The company also reignited its Raptor engines in space to attempt an orbital burn – a crucial maneuver to one day bring a vehicle back to the ground. The launch also included plans to fly the ship at a "higher angle of attack" to test what it can handle on future landings.
Oct. 13, 2024: SpaceX catches rocket booster in mechanical arms nicknamed ‘chopsticks’
For its fifth test flight, the empty Starship blasted off from the southern tip of Texas near the Mexican border. As in previous tests, the vehicle flew on a trajectory over the Gulf.
In a first, the first-stage Super Heavy booster flew back to the launch pad. SpaceX had built a launch tower with massive mechanized metal arms, nicknamed "chopsticks," that then managed to catch the descending booster in a daring maneuver.
Prior to the booster dropping and landing, it had pushed the Starship upward into the atmosphere, sending it soaring more than 130 miles high.
An hour after liftoff, Starship made a controlled landing in the Indian Ocean. Ahead of the demo, SpaceX engineers reworked the rocket's heat shield, replacing the entire thermal protection system with newer tiles and a backup ablative layer.
June 6, 2024: Starship completes first-ever successful landing burn
The craft experienced a successful separation from the booster, which saw 32 of 33 engines igniting properly during launch, about seven minutes into the flight.
The booster successfully came back down to Earth and splashed down in the Gulf as planned, and all six of Starship's engines powered it into successful orbital insertion.
Heat shields protecting the outside of the craft took a beating, with at least one throwing debris into one of the live-streaming external cameras, but it managed to make a successful re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.
Roughly one hour and six minutes into the flight, Starship completed its first-ever landing burn and splashed down into the Indian Ocean to raucous applause.
March 14, 2024: Starship reaches space before being lost in atmosphere
In the third test, the Starship succeeded in separating from the booster and proceeding to orbit within minutes of launching, where it conducted a series of in-flight tests while coasting through space.
Video of its flight beamed back to Earth using SpaceX's Starlink Satellite network was able to capture the beginning of the spacecraft's re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. However, the signal was lost about an hour into the mission before SpaceX concluded that the craft likely broke apart.
Despite Starship's failure to make its planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean, SpaceX said the rocket still achieved several key milestones, including the successful firing of its 33 Raptor engines in the booster and the opening of a payload door.
Nov. 18, 2023: Starship makes it further in second test, but still explodes
During the second launch test of the Starship, the rocket survived for longer and achieved some milestones, but it still eventually exploded.
The booster was able to successfully separate from the rocket, which reached space before the ground crew lost communication with it after nine minutes. Three minutes later, SpaceX lost both the booster and the spacecraft in two explosions.
Rather than seeing it as a setback, SpaceX expressed optimism about the stage separation while saying the rest would just be valuable data to help them remedy whatever went wrong.
April 20, 2023: Starship explodes minutes after inaugural launch
The Starship got off to a rough start when it exploded just four minutes into its inaugural test flight.
The craft was able to launch at SpaceX’s private Starbase site in Texas, but telemetry data revealed that several of the spacecraft's engines had failed, triggering the explosion before the booster and spacecraft could even separate.
SpaceX later confirmed the rocket's flight termination system was activated to destroy the tumbling vehicle before it met its fiery end.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: From explosions to catches, how SpaceX's Starship reached flight 15
