SpaceX booster hovers above Gulf before erupting in fireball

NBCLA's spectator footage captures the descent after an automatic abort canceled the tower catch, while Starship 42 continued toward orbit.

Channel: NBCLA Story of November 15, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 35,623 views a day, 11 times a normal first day on this channel (3,250).

SpaceX booster explodes after Starship launch

Next story: Eight killed in Brooklyn collapse as rescue operation ends

"Look at it hover," an unseen onlooker says as the SpaceX booster hangs just above the water, its engines throwing up smoke and spray. Moments later, a fireball fills the view.

NBCLA's Short captures that abrupt change from controlled descent to explosion over the Gulf. The footage, credited on screen to John Galloway and dated November 13 in Brownsville, Texas, follows the booster down before holding on the flames and drifting smoke left behind.

The distinction between the two parts of the launch matters here. Super Heavy is the lower-stage booster, not the Starship spacecraft above it. According to NBCLA's description, an automatic abort canceled the booster's planned return-to-launch-site catch attempt. Starship 42 continued toward orbit.

The clip drew about 36,000 views in its first day, roughly eleven times NBCLA's usual start for a Short. Its footage stays with the spectators' view: engine fire, a brief hover, then startled voices as the booster disappears into smoke.

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The numbers

The booster footage drew a much larger first-day audience than NBCLA's usual Shorts, with an unusually busy comment section too.

the video's first day

usual first day here

3,250

this video

35,623

subscribers

428,000

▲ 1,000 in the last 7 days

total views

505,712,671

views per day

376,545

typical day: 642,690

the video

views

35,940

likes

385

comments

98

days online

1

subscribers: this channel and similar channels

NBC Chicago

460,000

CBS Philadelphia

433,000

FOX 29 Philadelphia

432,000

NBCLA

428,000

WCCO - CBS Minnesota

423,000

FOX 13 Seattle

405,000

As of November 15, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.