This catch belongs on SportsCenter.
After spending more than 22 hours in orbit, SpaceX’s Starship returned Saturday and was secured by the launch tower’s massive mechanical arms in a controlled descent—marking the first time a spacecraft has been retrieved from space in this way.
The “chopstick” arms of the Mechazilla tower clamped onto Starship’s upper section at the company’s Starbase facility in Texas following its 15th test flight. The mission was not a complete success, however: the rocket’s lower section exploded over the Gulf of Mexico soon after Friday’s launch.
During its journey, Starship—the largest and most powerful rocket ever built—completed 14 trips around Earth at roughly 17,600 mph, or nearly 23 times the speed of sound. It then made history by becoming the first upper-stage spacecraft recovered directly from orbit, CNN reported.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk celebrated the achievement Saturday afternoon.
“Congratulations to an incredible team at SpaceX!!” Musk posted on X.
Starship is made up of two primary vehicles: the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage.
The company missed its chance at a two-part catch after the Super Heavy booster broke apart over the Gulf of Mexico shortly after liftoff Friday.
SpaceX’s broader ambition is to make future crewed missions to the moon and Mars faster and more practical.
“Can you believe it?” SpaceX commentator Dan Huot exclaimed at the Texas launch site, emphasizing each word.
“Look at her! Baby, she’s back!”
Saturday’s achievement came during SpaceX’s 15th flight of a fully assembled Starship since 2023 and only the vehicle’s second orbital mission. The flight was streamed live through Starlink, and the spacecraft had earlier released 26 Starlink satellites.
NASA hailed the milestone. The agency has hired SpaceX to use Starship to carry Artemis astronauts to the moon later this decade as part of plans to establish a lasting lunar presence.
“It was almost magic,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote on X.
NASA is committing billions of dollars to SpaceX to help return Artemis astronauts to the lunar surface by 2030.
SpaceX is also getting ready to launch Starship from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center in the months ahead.
NASA currently plans for Artemis III in 2027 to conduct a crewed docking test in Earth orbit with the lunar landers. Artemis IV is scheduled for 2028 and is expected to deliver the first American moon landing in more than five decades.
With Post wires