SpaceX makes history with first-ever Starship catch after orbital flight

The historic maneuver took place on Saturday at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas, where the spacecraft returned after spending approximately 22 hours in space.

Having completed 14 orbits around Earth at an altitude of approximately 265 kilometers, Starship reentered the atmosphere and approached the launch site. The spacecraft descended toward the launch site, where giant mechanical arms mounted on the launch tower successfully caught it as it returned from space.

The successful recovery marked the first time SpaceX had caught a Starship upper stage returning from orbit. Although the company had previously recovered Super Heavy boosters using the same technique, bringing back the spacecraft itself represented a new engineering milestone.

During the mission, Starship deployed 26 advanced Starlink satellites. SpaceX also reported that the spacecraft's key systems, including its heat shield, appeared to function as intended.

However, the test was not entirely successful. The company had initially planned to recover both stages of the rocket, but the Super Heavy booster experienced problems during its descent.

SpaceX's Kate Tice said the booster's engines had stopped firing prematurely. Its guidance system subsequently detected that the vehicle was not in the correct position and automatically initiated a diversion toward the water, followed by self-destruction.

Despite the booster failure, the successful recovery of Starship marked an important step toward SpaceX's goal of developing a fully reusable rocket system, which the company sees as essential to reducing the cost of repeated launches.

The achievement also has implications for NASA's Artemis program, which plans to use a modified version of Starship to transport astronauts to the lunar surface.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman welcomed the achievement, describing Starship's successful return as an extraordinary accomplishment.

The mission was the 15th full-scale Starship test flight since 2023 and the second to reach orbit.

Standing approximately 124 meters tall when fully assembled, Starship is the world's largest and most powerful rocket system. SpaceX is developing it for satellite launches, future lunar missions, and eventual human exploration of Mars.

The company is also preparing to expand Starship operations beyond Texas, with launches from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida expected in the coming months.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that SpaceX had planned to catch both its Super Heavy booster and Starship spacecraft during a test flight as part of its efforts to develop a fully reusable rocket system.