SpaceX’s Starship nails a smooth return with historic catch
SpaceX has caught the upper stage of its giant Starship rocket in midair for the first time, using mechanical arms nicknamed ‘chopsticks’. The spacecraft made a triumphant return to Earth, landing at the same launch pad it left 22 hours earlier in a milestone moment for the company.
SpaceX has performed the historic catch using mechanical arms nicknamed "chopsticks".
SpaceX officials say catch by mechanical arms shows Starship's full reusability, crucial for rapid, low-cost recycling.
Flight 15 expected to orbit Earth about 14 times over 22 hours, before company catches it at Starbase, Texas SpaceX’s Starship megarocket blasted off from Texas on Friday afternoon, as the aerospace company sought to make history with a double catch of its reusable rocket. Starship Flight 15 is expected to orbit the Earth about 14 times over the course of 22 hours, before the company catches the rocket at its launchpad at Starbase, in south Texas.
Elon Musk’s company will try to grab both parts of the rocket for the first time.
The successful return of the SpaceX rocket to its launch pad is a breakthrough in the company's decade-long effort to develop a fully reusable rocket.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX on Saturday carried out the first-ever recovery of a spaceship, pulling off a successful “catch” of its Starship vessel as it returned to its launch site after a day in orbit. On Saturday, Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated Musk and SpaceX. “It was almost magic… Making more believers by the day… one step closer to (the Moon),” he said on X. Refueling challenge Musk, the world’s richest person, has already revolutionized the space sector with the partially reusable Falcon rockets, which regularly launch satellites and carry astronauts to the International Space…