SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft returned to Earth, caught midair by giant mechanical arms where its journey began 22 hours earlier.
The spacecraft emerged from a cloudy sky on Saturday, descending slowly over Starbase before slipping smoothly between mechanical “chopstick arms” above Launch Pad 2 in Texas – the first-ever capture of a Starship flying back from space.
Following the capture, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk congratulated the team on the achievement.
SpaceX officials stated that Saturday’s capture demonstrates Starship’s full reusability, enabling rapid, low-cost recycling.
However, the first-stage booster exploded shortly after Friday’s liftoff from Texas, preventing the company from achieving its desired double catch.
Separating neatly from its booster before the failure, the upper-stage spacecraft soared into orbit and released 26 advanced Starlink satellites.
SpaceX’s Kate Tice stated that the spacecraft’s engines stopped firing too soon on the descent. The booster’s guidance system sensed it was off-position and automatically initiated a watery diversion and self-destruction; engineers continue to investigate the cause.
Although Friday’s booster recovery failed, the company had previously successfully captured three boosters, validating the technique.
NASA, which is investing billions of dollars in Starship to land Artemis astronauts on the Moon later this decade, welcomed the achievement.
“It was almost magic,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said on X.
Starship completed 14 orbits around Earth, reaching an apogee of 265km (165 miles), surpassing the previous mission’s one to two laps.
SpaceX reported that all systems on the spacecraft, including its vital heat shield, appeared to function properly.
It was SpaceX’s 15th flight of a full-scale Starship since 2023 and its second trip to orbit.
Starship, a 124-metre (407ft) behemoth, is the world’s largest and most powerful rocket, designed for Moon and Mars travel.
SpaceX expects to begin launching Starships from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center within the next few months.
