SpaceX Starship captured by launchpad arms in first midair recovery
The spacecraft returned to Earth on Saturday after completing 14 laps around the planet, despite the first-stage booster exploding during the mission.
The SpaceX Starship spacecraft was caught midair by mechanical arms at its Texas launch site on Saturday, marking the first time a Starship has been recovered after returning from space. The 124-metre spacecraft descended over Starbase and was caught by the "chopstick arms" at Launch Pad 2, according to reports from Al Jazeera, The Hindu and Mathrubhumi.
The mission followed a Friday afternoon liftoff near the US-Mexican border. While the upper-stage spacecraft successfully released 26 Starlink satellites and completed 14 laps around Earth at an altitude of 265km, the first-stage booster exploded. SpaceX official Kate Tice said the booster's engines stopped firing too early during descent, causing the guidance system to trigger a self-destruction sequence into the Gulf of Mexico.
SpaceX officials stated the successful catch proves the full reusability of the Starship, which is intended for travel to the Moon and Mars. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk congratulated his team following the event. NASA, which is funding the Starship programme to assist the Artemis missions in landing astronauts on the Moon, welcomed the achievement.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman described the event on X as "almost magic."
This was the 15th full-scale Starship flight since 2023 and its second trip to orbit. SpaceX reported that the spacecraft and its heat shield functioned correctly. The company expects to begin launches from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida within the next few months.