SpaceX caught its Starship upper stage with the launch tower's mechanical arms in South Texas on Saturday the first successful catch of the upper stage booster.
The 407-foot-tall megarocket returned from its 15th integrated flight test following a mission that included 14 orbits around Earth. As the vehicle descended toward the Starbase launch site, it flipped vertical and settled into the grasp of two giant mechanical arms attached to the launch gantry.
“Congratulations to an incredible team at SpaceX!!!” SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said.
How the midair catch unfolded
The upper stage soared into orbit after lifting off at 5:47 p.m. EST on Friday, November 13, 2026. During its time in orbit, the spacecraft deployed 26 next-generation Starlink broadband satellites before preparing for re-entry.
The epic day has arrived, thanks to the incredibly talented team at SpaceX! https://t.co/vGQ8eSoEFk
The vehicle endured the heat of atmospheric re-entry before executing a bellyflop maneuver to decelerate. Raptor engines then ignited to swing the stainless steel craft upright as it approached the tower, where the mechanical arms — nicknamed robot chopsticks — secured it in midair.
That was the missing link, the holy grail of spaceflight, plummeting through fire to be snatched out of the air by steel. We caught a Starship, and now everything changes.
Dan Huot, SpaceX mission commentator
What happened to the Super Heavy booster
While the upper-stage capture succeeded, SpaceX fell short of its desired double catch. The first-stage Super Heavy booster was diverted into the Gulf of Mexico and exploded shortly after launch on Friday.
I hugged ship 42 upon its return
SpaceX’s Kate Tice explained that the booster’s engines stopped firing too soon during the return trip. The guidance system detected that the hardware was not in the correct position for a tower catch and automatically initiated an offshore splashdown and self-destruction protocol, according to Deutsche Welle.
“Landing a rocket back on Earth is incredibly difficult and can itself be considered an engineering marvel. Now add the sheer size and weight of Starship to that equation,” Niharika Patel, Technical Programme Manager at Loft Orbital, told Al Jazeera.
Next steps for lunar missions
The recovery helps NASA achieve full reusability for Starship, its selected crewed lunar lander for the Artemis program. The agency is targeting as soon as 2028 for Artemis IV.
SpaceX also plans to begin launching Starships from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center within the coming months.
Mechazilla catches Starship! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on this incredible achievement! pic.twitter.com/YJzmGUZb2B
Earlier coverage: SpaceX Successfully Catches Starship Upper Stage in First Orbital Landing Catch
Great day https://t.co/B3sFYvxicR
More on SpaceX
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
Yes
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
Starship is traveling around the world every ~90 minutes right now