Azernews.Az

By Alimat Aliyeva

SpaceX launched its giant Starship rocket on its 15th flight test on Friday, but the Super Heavy booster failed to return to the launch site for a planned catch by the launch tower's mechanical arms, instead splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico.

The rocket lifted off from SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas at approximately 4:48 p.m. Central Time.

The mission marked SpaceX's first planned attempt to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft using the launch tower's mechanical arms during a single flight.

However, following stage separation, the booster was diverted from its planned return to the launch site and instead completed an offshore splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.