SpaceX has successfully captured the upper stage of its massive Starship rocket using mechanical arms attached to its launch tower in Texas, marking a major milestone in the company’s reusable rocket programme.
The historic operation took place on Saturday at the company’s Starbase facility, where the spacecraft was caught by the tower’s giant mechanical arms, popularly known as “chopsticks”.
The achievement followed Friday’s Test Flight 15, described as the most ambitious Starship trial yet. It was the first time SpaceX attempted to recover both the rocket’s booster and upper stage during the same mission.
However, the booster recovery did not go as planned. After a failed attempt to catch it, SpaceX redirected the booster towards an offshore splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, where it exploded before reaching the water.
The upper stage continued its journey into space, completing 14 orbits around the Earth before returning to Starbase and being caught by the launch tower, nicknamed Mechazilla.
SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk shared a video on X showing him inspecting the upper-stage spacecraft after the successful capture.
The test flight also prompted temporary safety measures. The Hawaii Department of Transportation suspended some flights along the West Coast on Friday over concerns about possible falling debris. The Federal Aviation Administration also announced a rare nationwide ground stop following telecommunications system failures. Both restrictions have since been lifted.
The successful recovery is significant to SpaceX’s plans to develop Starship into a fully reusable and dependable launch vehicle.
In the immediate future, the company intends to use the rocket to deploy more satellites for its Starlink internet service, which currently serves as its main source of profit.
Starship is also expected to play a major role in NASA’s lunar programme by transporting astronauts and cargo between lunar orbit and the Moon’s surface.
Musk has also outlined plans to use the spacecraft for his broader ambition of establishing human settlements on Mars and making humanity a multi-planetary species.
During Friday’s test, SpaceX deployed another 26 of its latest Starlink V3 satellites into orbit, further expanding its satellite internet network.
The company’s constellation already had more than 11,000 satellites operating in low Earth orbit. According to SpaceX, a single Starship rocket will eventually be capable of carrying as many as 60 Starlink V3 satellites in one launch.
