SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft has returned to Earth after giant mechanical arms caught it midair at the site where its journey began 22 hours earlier. The spaceship descended slowly over Starbase on Saturday before slipping between the arms above Launch Pad 2 in Texas. It was the first-ever capture of a Starship flying back from space.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk congratulated his “incredible team” soon afterwards. Company officials said the catch shows Starship’s full reusability, which they described as crucial for rapid, low-cost recycling.
Booster lost after Friday’s launch from Texas
The company did not achieve its desired double catch. The first-stage booster exploded shortly after liftoff on Friday. The upper-stage spacecraft had already separated cleanly from it and soared into orbit.
Also read: SpaceX aborts booster catch on latest Starship test flight
SpaceX’s Kate Tice said the engines stopped firing too soon on the way back down. The booster’s guidance system detected that it was out of position and automatically sent it into the water, where it self-destructed. Engineers are still investigating the cause, though the company had already made three earlier booster catches.
Orbital flight and NASA praise for Starship
The spacecraft released 26 advanced Starlink satellites in orbit. It completed 14 laps around the Earth, well beyond the previous mission’s one to two laps. SpaceX reported that everything on board, including the vital heat shield, appeared to work well.
NASA, which is paying billions of dollars for Starship to land Artemis astronauts on the Moon later this decade, welcomed the achievement. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said on X: “It was almost magic.”
Florida launches planned within months
The flight was SpaceX’s 15th full-scale Starship flight since 2023 and only its second trip to orbit. SpaceX expects to begin launching Starships from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center within the next few months.
