SpaceX will attempt to return Starship Flight 15 to launch pad Saturday afternoon

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (KTRK) -- Starship 15 launched Friday afternoon off South Padre Island, and on Saturday afternoon, SpaceX hopes to do something it has never been able to do before — guide Starship back to the launchpad.

The company previously attempted this at the tower on Friday, but it ended with a loud explosion in the Gulf after SpaceX failed to catch the booster.

According to SpaceX, the Super Heavy booster auto-aborted the crash attempt due to a guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) issue. That's the onboard system that determines where the booster is, where it needs to go, and steers it there, the company said.

SpaceX said the booster automatically diverted to the Gulf and then activated its Flight Termination System (FTS), which led to an auto-destruct right before splashdown. According to the company, it worked as intended in response to an unexpected issue.

ABC13's Nick Natario watched the launch from Starbase and has a preview of what's to come today.

SpaceX has been launching in South Texas for three years and has never been able to catch any of its Starship spacecrafts before.

It would be a big deal for SpaceX because if it can catch the spacecraft, the company can reuse the parts and greatly reduce the cost of air travel, SpaceX said.

The company said that after going around the globe for almost 24 hours, it hopes to catch the Starship at about 3 p.m. Saturday.