SpaceX Catches Starship Upper Stage From Orbit, Booster Explodes Over Gulf
SpaceX successfully caught the upper stage of its Starship rocket from orbit on Saturday, marking the first time the company has recovered a Starship upper stage at its launch site after an orbital journey.
The catch took place at Starbase, Texas, using the launch tower’s two giant mechanical arms, known as “chopsticks” or Mechazilla. The spacecraft, Ship 42, completed approximately 14 revolutions around Earth during a flight lasting more than 22 hours before being caught.
The mission was Flight 15, SpaceX’s first attempt to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage. The booster recovery attempt was aborted five minutes into the flight. The booster was diverted to an offshore splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, where it exploded before hitting the water. SpaceX has not yet provided an explanation of what went wrong.
During the mission, Starship deployed 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites. The Hawaii Department of Transportation issued a temporary pause on some West Coast flights due to debris risk, and the FAA issued a nationwide ground stop due to telecommunications system failures. Both orders have since been lifted.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk on a mission that “was almost magic.” NASA has a multibillion-dollar contract with SpaceX to develop Starship as a lunar lander, and the agency is targeting a crewed moon landing as soon as 2028.
SpaceX has previously recovered boosters three times but had never caught the upper stage before. On previous missions, the stainless steel ship had either splashed down safely in the ocean or been destroyed.
