US "Starship" conducts 15th test flight; booster fails to return to launch site as planned.

The U.S. Space Exploration Technologies Corporation's heavy-lift launch vehicle "Starship" conducted its 15th test flight on the afternoon of the 13th, Central Time. The original plan was to attempt, for the first time, the return of both the booster and the spacecraft to the launch site, with recovery by "catching" them using the launch tower's mechanical arms. However, the booster failed to return to the launch site as planned. At approximately 16:48 Central Time on the 13th, "Starship" lifted off from the launch base in southern Texas. Subsequently, the rocket's first and second stages separated. The "Super Heavy" booster did not return to the launch site as originally planned and made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.