SpaceX successfully captures Starship after 22-hour orbital flight
SpaceX retrieved its Starship spacecraft following a 14-orbit, 22-hour mission, while the Super Heavy booster was lost during recovery attempts.
SpaceX recovered its Starship spacecraft on Saturday, guiding it between the mechanical arms at Launch Pad 2 in Texas after a 22-hour flight that included 14 Earth orbits and the deployment of 26 Starlink satellites. The event marks the first successful capture of the vehicle that forms the centerpiece of the company's reusable rocket system.
The mission, the 15th test flight of the Starship system, is viewed as a key step toward the multibillion-dollar development program aimed at supporting SpaceX's satellite operations and future crewed missions to the Moon and Mars. NASA, which is contracting with SpaceX to land Artemis astronauts on the lunar surface later this decade, welcomed the achievement.
"It was almost magic," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote on X.
SpaceX attempted to recover the Super Heavy booster that powered the launch, but the booster self-destructed over the Gulf of Mexico after its engines shut down prematurely. Kate Tice, a SpaceX spokesperson, said the booster’s guidance system detected an incorrect position and triggered the abort sequence. The company continues to investigate the malfunction.
While the Starship capture demonstrates progress toward full reusability, engineers note that earlier test flights have successfully recovered the Super Heavy booster, underscoring the ongoing challenges of the technology.