Elon Musk’s SpaceX makes history as Starship spacecraft gets caught by launch tower

STARBASE, TEXAS: Elon Musk’s SpaceX achieved a major milestone on Saturday, November 14, when its Starship spacecraft returned from orbit and was caught by giant mechanical arms at the company’s Texas launch facility for the first time.

The historic catch came roughly 22 hours after the spacecraft launched from SpaceX’s Starbase facility on Friday. While the company successfully recovered Starship, its attempt to bring back both stages of the rocket fell short after the Super Heavy booster exploded over the Gulf of Mexico.

SpaceX Starship completes 22-hour flight before historic catch

During its 15th test flight, Starship deployed 26 Starlink satellites and completed 14 orbits around Earth before returning to its launch site.

The spacecraft was caught by the tower’s giant mechanical arms, known as Mechazilla. The achievement marks an important step in SpaceX’s efforts to develop a fully reusable rocket system, which could help reduce launch costs and allow more frequent space missions.

SpaceX had previously caught its Super Heavy booster three times, but this was the first time the company successfully caught the Starship spacecraft itself.

Walter Isaacson recalls Elon Musk's vision for Mechazilla

Musk’s biographer Walter Isaacson celebrated the achievement on X, recalling a meeting at Starbase in December 2020 when Musk proposed using the launch tower’s mechanical arms to catch a returning Starship.

"This is actually a bigger deal for humanity than most people can imagine," Isaacson wrote.

He also remembered how engineers reacted when Musk first presented the idea.

"I will always remember the looks on the engineers’ faces in the Starbase conference room in December 2020 when @elonmusk suggested, then insisted, that the Mechazilla launchpad arms could catch a returning Starship," he added.

Super Heavy booster explodes during SpaceX recovery attempt

Despite the successful spacecraft catch, SpaceX did not manage to recover both stages of the rocket during the test.

The Super Heavy booster exploded over the Gulf of Mexico after its engines shut down prematurely during descent. The issue forced the booster to divert from its planned recovery, and engineers are now investigating what went wrong.

The failed booster recovery came in contrast to the successful return of Starship, making the test a mixed result for the company.

NASA chief Jared Isaacman praises historic Starship catch

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman also praised the achievement, sharing his reaction on X.

"It was almost magic," Isaacman wrote. "Making more believers by the day."

The milestone is also important for NASA, which is relying on Starship technology for its Artemis program, aimed at returning astronauts to the Moon.

Musk, meanwhile, hopes to eventually use the spacecraft for missions to Mars.