SpaceX, the space company founded by Elon Musk, has caught Starship for the first time as it returned to Earth. The spacecraft was caught in midair by the launch tower’s two large mechanical arms, marking a significant achievement for the company’s space program.
The operation took place on Saturday, November 14, at SpaceX’s base in Texas, about 22 hours after launch. After a controlled descent from space, Starship positioned itself between the arms of the Mechazilla system, which caught it without the spacecraft needing to land on the ground.
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SpaceX posted footage of the maneuver on the social media platform X and called it a historic moment. In its message, the company announced that Mechazilla had caught Starship and congratulated the entire SpaceX team on the extraordinary achievement.
Starship’s 15th test flight
Starship had launched on Friday, November 13, from SpaceX’s Starbase in South Texas for its 15th test flight.
After separating from the Super Heavy booster, the spacecraft continued its mission in space. It completed 14 orbits of Earth and deployed 26 next-generation Starlink satellites, fulfilling one of the test’s main objectives.
About 22 and a half hours after launch, Starship re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and withstood the extremely high temperatures of re-entry.
In the final stage of its descent, the spacecraft emerged from the clouds, used its engines to move into a vertical position and slowed down. It then approached the launch tower, where the two mechanical arms caught it.
SpaceX had previously used the same system to catch the Super Heavy booster, but this was the first time the maneuver had been carried out with the Starship spacecraft itself.
Super Heavy booster ends up in the Gulf of Mexico
Catching Starship does not mean the entire mission went according to plan. SpaceX had aimed, for the first time, to catch both parts of the system: the spacecraft and the Super Heavy booster.
As Super Heavy returned, its engines encountered problems and shut down earlier than planned. The automated guidance system determined that the booster was not in the right position to return safely to the tower, so it activated the landing abort procedure.
Super Heavy headed toward the Gulf of Mexico and was destroyed after the flight termination system was activated. SpaceX has begun investigating the cause of the problem. Despite the loss of the booster, the company considers the catch of Starship a significant technological success.
What the achievement means for space exploration
Catching the spacecraft with Mechazilla brings SpaceX closer to its main goal: building a fully reusable space system. The company’s plan is for both Starship and Super Heavy to return to the launch site after each mission and be prepared for further flights, without building new vehicles for every trip.
This technology is expected to significantly reduce the cost of space travel and make more frequent launches possible.
NASA is also closely following the program. Starship has been selected to carry astronauts to the Moon’s surface as part of the Artemis program. The head of the U.S. space agency, Jared Isaacman, described the spacecraft’s successful return as an almost magical moment and another step toward returning humans to the Moon.
Elon Musk also responded after the operation. He went to the launch tower, inspected Starship up close and posted photographs of the spacecraft after it was caught.
SpaceX has not yet managed to recover both stages in the same mission. Nevertheless, this test marks progress in the company’s plans to transport people and cargo to the Moon and, later, Mars.
