Starship descended from a 22-hour orbital mission on Saturday into the mechanical arms of the launch tower in Texas during the company’s 15th test flight.
The bullet-shaped upper stage, measuring 171 feet, completed 14 orbits of Earth. The milestone marked the first time the company caught its upper stage.
The mission also deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, as reported by Al Jazeera. SpaceX carried out the test from its launch complex in Starbase.
“Can you believe it?,” a commentator said as large crowds cheered at the launch site in Texas, according to BBC.
SpaceX fell short of its desired double-catch mission after the lower booster stage diverted a few minutes after takeoff and exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. The guidance, navigation and control system triggered the no-go.
“It was doing what it was supposed to do. Basically, it detected that the booster was not in the place it was supposed to be to proceed with a catch,” SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot said early on Saturday, according to The Guardian. The booster was also slightly low on fuel, according to SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk.
Booster was slightly low on fuel
Kate Tice said its engines stopped firing too soon on the way back down. The booster’s guidance system sensed it was not in the right position and automatically initiated the watery detour and self-destruction.
NASA is paying billions of dollars for Starship to land Artemis astronauts on the Moon later this decade. The agency welcomed the achievement as the 2028 date nears for its plan to return humans to the lunar surface.
“Making more believers by the day,” wrote NASA administrator Jared Isaacman on X, praising the 15th flight and adding that it was “One step closer to the moon”, as reported by The Guardian. Isaacman also described the capture as “almost magic” on X, according to Al Jazeera.
SpaceX expects to begin launching Starships from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center within the next few months, Al Jazeera reported. Musk has sought to make Starship rapidly reusable to lower the costs of space travel, with plans to ramp up test flights to a weekly or twice-weekly cadence.
Flight 15 Update: Starship coasting in orbit, still looking good for return to launch site today. Pad and tower systems are go for catch. pic.twitter.com/vMkjoZdxa6
Earlier coverage: SpaceX Recovers Starship Upper Stage at Texas Launch Site
Congrats to @elonmusk and the @SpaceX team! It was almost magic. Making more believers by the day….one step closer to 🌖🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/PYs9yNQMdg
On Friday, November 13, Starship lifted off from Starbase, Texas on its 15th flight. On Saturday, November 14, Starship returned to Starbase, Texas, and changed everything → https://t.co/K5XRci6bnw pic.twitter.com/smWs1qSDuZ
Mechazilla catches Starship! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on this incredible achievement! pic.twitter.com/YJzmGUZb2B
Starship is traveling around the world every ~90 minutes right now
