STARBASE, Texas, Nov. 15 – SpaceX has caught its Starship spacecraft with the giant mechanical arms of its launch tower for the first time, after the vehicle returned from orbit on Saturday, about 22 hours after lifting off from Texas.
The upper stage, known as the Ship, descended through the clouds over Starbase and settled between the tower’s “chopstick” arms, the first-ever capture of a Starship flying back from space, AP and Al Jazeera reported. The BBC said SpaceX described the catch as “picture perfect”.
“Now everything changes”
“That was the Holy Grail of space flight, plummeting through fire to be snatched out of the air by steel. We caught a Starship and now everything changes,” SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot said, as quoted by AFP via the BBC.
NASA, which is paying billions of dollars for Starship to land Artemis astronauts on the Moon later this decade, welcomed the achievement. “It was almost magic,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said on X, according to Al Jazeera.
Booster lost
The company fell short of its goal of recovering both stages. The Super Heavy booster’s boostback burn ended early due to low fuel, SpaceX said, and its guidance system triggered an automated abort, diverting it to the Gulf of Mexico, where it was destroyed. Engineers are still investigating the cause. SpaceX had caught Super Heavy boosters on three earlier flights.
Before the return, the spacecraft reached orbit and released 26 Starlink satellites, Al Jazeera reported, citing AP and Reuters. It was the 15th flight of a full-scale Starship, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket, which is designed for travel to the Moon and Mars. SpaceX said the catch shows Starship can be fully reused, which is key to cutting launch costs.
Why it matters for Ghana
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service has operated in Ghana since August 2024, after licensing by the National Communications Authority (NCA). Cheaper, reusable launches are central to SpaceX’s plans to expand that satellite network.
Source: AP; BBC News; Al Jazeera (AP/Reuters); SpaceX; National Communications Authority.
Featured image: Oye News GH graphic.
