SpaceX successfully caught its 407-foot Starship with giant mechanical arms on Saturday following a 22-hour test flight from Texas.
The bullet-shaped stainless steel spacecraft lowered itself upright onto the launch pad after 14 orbits of Earth, completing the first-ever midair capture of a Starship returning from space. The milestone flight reached an altitude of 165 miles, releasing 26 advanced Starlink satellites while streaming live footage down to mission control.
Upper-Stage Spacecraft Performs Cleanly Despite Booster Explosion
France 24 reported that the upper-stage spacecraft performed cleanly throughout its journey, with its vital heat shield functioning as expected during the flight.
The successful capture helped offset a failure earlier in the weekend. The first-stage booster exploded in the Gulf of Mexico shortly after liftoff on Friday when its engines cut out prematurely on descent.
SpaceX’s Kate Tice explained that the booster’s guidance system detected an incorrect position and automatically initiated a watery detour and self-destruction, according to Belfast Telegraph.
Reaction and Lunar Ambitions
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman reacted to the midair catch on X, writing that it was “almost magic. Making more believers by the day … one step closer to [moon and US flag emojis],” as cited by Belfast Telegraph.
NASA is paying billions of dollars for the vehicle to land Artemis astronauts on the lunar surface later this decade and establish a permanent base. Elon Musk maintains ambitions to launch a fleet of the massive rockets to build a city on Mars.
Florida Launches and Artemis Timeline
SpaceX expects to begin launching Starships from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center within the next few months, according to Belfast Telegraph. That site will serve as the departure point for NASA’s upcoming Artemis mission, which will remain in Earth orbit to practice lunar lander maneuvers.
Artemis III astronauts will attempt to dock their capsule with both Starship and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander as the two private companies alternate crew deliveries to the moon. NASA targets 2028 for Artemis IV, which will mark humanity’s first crewed lunar landing since the Apollo era more than half a century ago.
