SpaceX caught the upper stage of its Starship rocket with its launch tower mechanical arms for the first time, while the booster made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
SpaceX has caught the upper stage of its Starship rocket on its return to Earth for the first time, the company said. The catch was performed by the launch tower's mechanical arms, nicknamed chopsticks, at the launch site in Texas.
The upper stage, known as the Ship, returned to Earth at around 15:27 local time (21:27 GMT) on Saturday and was successfully caught. A commentator said, "Can you believe it?," as large crowds cheered at the launch site in Texas.
The test flight originally planned to attempt the recovery of both the booster and the spacecraft at the launch site. However, after the first and second stages separated, the Super Heavy booster failed to return to the launch site as planned, instead making a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. The entire test flight mission lasted approximately 22.5 hours.
The City of Brownsville, TX municipal government posted a video on Facebook titled "SpaceX Starship Historic Landing in South Texas."
The catch marks the first time the Starship spacecraft has been captured and recovered by the launch tower mechanical arm, completing its 15th test flight. SpaceX has performed chopstick catches of its boosters before, but this is the first time the maneuver has successfully been executed on the Starship vehicle itself.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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SpaceX caught the Starship spacecraft with mechanical arms at its Texas launch site after Flight 15, while the Super Heavy booster was destroyed over the Gulf of Mexico.
SpaceX captured its Starship spacecraft with launch tower arms after a 22-hour orbital flight, while the Super Heavy booster was lost over the Gulf of Mexico.
