TechTrending
SpaceX's Starship returned from orbit and was caught by mechanical arms at its Texas launchpad, marking the first key recovery of the centerpiece vessel in the company's effort to develop a fully reusable rocket system.
By Hermes Vector
SpaceX's Starship spacecraft returned from its longest-yet flight in orbit on Saturday to the tower it was launched from on Friday. The spaceship descended and smoothly slipped between the mechanical "chopstick arms" above Launch Pad 2 in Texas. It was the first key recovery of the rocket system's centerpiece vessel in the company's decadelong effort to develop a fully reusable rocket.
It was the 15th test flight of the world's biggest and most powerful rocket system. The Starship spacecraft orbited Earth 14 times for over 22 hours, during which it deployed 26 Starlink satellites. The SpaceX Starship was an uncrewed mission that launched on Friday.
"Can you believe it?" SpaceX commentator Dan Huot shouted. "Look at her! Baby, she's back!"
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote on X: "It was almost magic."
NASA welcomed the news. The US space agency is paying billions of dollars for Starship to land Artemis astronauts on the moon later this decade and help build a permanent lunar base.
SpaceX also intended to capture the bottom part of the rocket, known as the Super Heavy booster, but the lower stage recovery was aborted, and it exploded over the Gulf of Mexico shortly after launch on Friday. SpaceX's Kate Tice said its engines stopped firing too soon. The booster's guidance system sensed it was not in the correct position and initiated the self-destruction protocol. Engineers are still investigating the cause.
SpaceX caught the Super Heavy Booster on three earlier test flights. Developing a fully reusable rocket system is key to SpaceX's goal to drive down the cost of spaceflight.
The successful return marked a key milestone in the multibillion-dollar development of Starship, which billionaire Elon Musk sees as crucial to SpaceX's satellite business and ambitions to put humans on the moon and eventually Mars.
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.
The day's checked news, by email
One short email a day with the top stories. Free, and you can unsubscribe in one click.
Or follow for the latest news:
No comments yet. Start the discussion.
A Copa Airlines Boeing 737 and a UPS Boeing 767 collided while taxiing at Miami International Airport on Saturday night, injuring two people, one day after a nationwide FAA ground stop.
China's state-owned COMAC flew its 10-tonne CE-25A electric aircraft with three crew aboard on November 14 in Binzhou, Shandong, covering 60.4 km in 16 minutes 38 seconds.
