SpaceX Starship caught by launch tower arms in historic first

On Sunday morning (Romania time), SpaceX achieved a historic first when its Starship upper stage was caught by mechanical arms at the launch tower in Texas after returning from orbit. The event took place at the company's Starbase facility, marking a major step toward fully reusable spaceflight.

The 52-metre-tall spacecraft had launched on Friday afternoon, spent about 22 hours in space, completed 14 orbits at an altitude of around 265 km, and deployed 26 Starlink satellites. Upon return, it descended vertically and was precisely caught by two large metal arms, nicknamed "chopsticks," attached to the launch tower. This was the first time a spacecraft returning from orbit was caught in this manner.

A SpaceX commentator described the moment as "the Holy Grail of spaceflight," and NASA administrator Jared Isaacman called it "almost magic." The achievement demonstrates the potential for rapid reuse of rockets, similar to commercial aircraft, according to SpaceX.

The mission's initial plan was to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage. However, the booster experienced an anomaly about six and a half minutes after liftoff; its engines shut down early, and the guidance system triggered an automatic diversion to the Gulf of Mexico, where it exploded over water. SpaceX engineers are investigating the cause. Despite this, the company has previously caught boosters on three occasions, validating the technique.

Reusing both stages dramatically lowers costs and enables rapid turnaround, crucial for NASA's Artemis moon missions and future plans to reach Mars. SpaceX also plans to launch Starship from Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the coming months.

This was the 15th test flight overall but only the second orbital mission. The success marks a significant step toward making space travel more affordable and frequent.