SpaceX successfully recovered its Starship spacecraft using giant mechanical arms at its Texas launch facility after more than 22 hours in orbit, achieving a major milestone toward developing a fully reusable rocket despite the loss of its Super Heavy booster.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

STARBASE, Texas — SpaceX achieved a historic milestone Saturday, Nov. 14, when its Starship spacecraft returned from orbit and was caught in midair by the giant mechanical arms of its launch tower, marking the first successful recovery of a Starship upper stage after an orbital flight.

The 171-foot spacecraft completed 14 orbits around Earth during a mission lasting more than 22 hours before descending toward SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas. The spacecraft reignited its engines, maneuvered into an upright position and lowered itself between the tower’s massive mechanical arms, known as Mechazilla.

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According to the New York Post, the successful recovery marked a first for the company’s Starship program and demonstrated a critical capability needed to reuse the spacecraft for future launches.

The recovery occurred at approximately 3:20 p.m. Central time Saturday, following the spacecraft’s departure from the same facility Friday afternoon. SpaceX employees and spectators cheered as the vehicle settled into the tower’s arms and shut down its engines.

The achievement came during Starship’s 15th integrated test flight, which began Friday, Nov. 13, at 4:47 p.m. Central time. The complete Starship launch system, consisting of the Super Heavy booster and upper-stage spacecraft, stands approximately 407 feet tall.

Although the spacecraft’s return was successful, SpaceX did not accomplish its original objective of recovering both stages of the launch vehicle.

The Super Heavy booster experienced problems after separating from Starship shortly after liftoff. Its return maneuver ended prematurely, forcing the vehicle to abandon its planned landing at the launch tower and divert toward the Gulf of Mexico.

SpaceX officials said preliminary information indicated that a low-fuel warning caused the booster to end its boostback maneuver earlier than planned. The vehicle subsequently exploded over the Gulf.

Kate Tice, SpaceX’s director of quality management and training, said the company was investigating the malfunction and that the booster’s automated systems had responded to the detected problem.

Despite the loss of the booster, the upper-stage spacecraft continued its mission, successfully deploying 26 Starlink satellites before completing its extended orbital flight.

The satellite deployment demonstrated Starship’s ability to transport commercial payloads into orbit, an important objective for SpaceX’s plans to expand its Starlink communications network.

According to Reuters, Saturday’s recovery was the first time the spacecraft had returned from orbit directly to its launch facility and been secured by the tower’s mechanical arms.

Previous Starship test flights had ended with planned ocean splashdowns, while SpaceX had already demonstrated the ability to catch Super Heavy boosters using the same tower technology.

The spacecraft’s return required it to withstand the extreme temperatures generated during atmospheric reentry. Starship’s heat shield protected the vehicle as it descended from orbital velocity before its engines slowed the spacecraft for the final landing maneuver.

SpaceX reported that the spacecraft and its heat shield appeared to have performed successfully during the flight.

Company founder and CEO Elon Musk celebrated the achievement, congratulating the SpaceX team following the successful recovery.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman also praised the accomplishment, describing the spacecraft’s return as a significant technological achievement.

NASA has contracted with SpaceX to develop a modified Starship spacecraft capable of landing astronauts on the Moon under the Artemis program.

The agency plans to use commercially developed lunar landers for missions intended to return American astronauts to the lunar surface, with a crewed landing currently targeted for 2028.

Starship’s ability to return to its launch site is central to SpaceX’s objective of developing a rocket system that can be rapidly refurbished and flown repeatedly. The company intends for both the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage to be recovered and reused, potentially reducing the cost of transporting satellites, equipment and personnel into space.

The spacecraft is also being developed for missions beyond Earth orbit, including transportation to the Moon and eventually Mars.

SpaceX has conducted 15 full-scale Starship test flights since 2023, testing propulsion, stage separation, atmospheric reentry, payload deployment and recovery systems.

The company is also preparing to expand Starship operations beyond Texas, with launches planned from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Saturday’s successful tower catch demonstrated the recovery capability of the Starship upper stage, although the loss of the Super Heavy booster left the planned dual recovery incomplete.

SpaceX continues investigating the booster malfunction while evaluating flight data from the spacecraft’s successful orbital mission and return to Starbase.

Original article
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