'Can you believe it?': SpaceX catches part of its Starship rocket on return to Earth

In a groundbreaking achievement, a SpaceX rocket has returned to its launch pad in Texas after completing an orbit around Earth. This marks the first-ever recovery of a spacecraft, a significant milestone in Elon Musk's mission to create a fully reusable rocket. The Starship 42, launched from SpaceX's Texas facilities, initially deployed 26 Starlink satellites before initiating its descent.

As the rocket approached Earth, it faced intense heat from its orbital speed of approximately 27,000 kilometres per hour, slowing down to a supersonic freefall. At the precise moment, the spacecraft's engines were reignited, enabling it to flip vertically and steer towards the launch tower. Two mechanical arms, resembling chopstick-like devices, successfully clamped onto the spacecraft as it hovered above the launch pad.

The recovery of the rocket's upper stage, after orbiting Earth 14 times for over 22 hours, signifies a major engineering milestone in SpaceX's decade-long endeavor to develop a fully reusable rocket system. This endeavor is crucial to Musk's long-term goals of sending humans to the Moon and eventually Mars. While this recovery is a key step toward that goal, SpaceX has yet to achieve a single mission with both Starship stages returning to the launch pad.

The company is working on new tile designs that will minimize the need for refurbishment after each mission, contributing to the overall cost-effectiveness and sustainability of the rocket system.