SpaceX's Starship comes home in style

Saturday marked a triumphant return for SpaceX's Starship, which completed its journey from space and made a catch in midair where its adventure began 22 hours prior. This was the first-ever successful capture of a Starship returning from orbit, a significant milestone in Elon Musk's plans for rapid and low-cost moon and Mars travel. However, the first-stage booster exploded shortly after Friday's launch from Texas, preventing SpaceX from achieving its goal of a double catch.

The stainless steel, bullet-shaped spacecraft descended upright at the launch pad, captured by giant mechanical arms from its launch tower. Cameras captured the dramatic moment as the spacecraft hung high above the ground, drawing cheers from SpaceX commentator Dan Huot. Despite the booster's failure, SpaceX officials emphasized that the catch demonstrated the full reusability of Starship, crucial for the company's ambitious goals.

NASA welcomed the news, as the agency is paying billions for Starship to help land Artemis astronauts on the moon and build a permanent lunar base. Musk's ultimate vision includes launching a fleet of Starships to construct a city on Mars. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman expressed excitement, calling it a step closer to making space travel commonplace.

The 407-foot (124-metre) rocket launched late Friday afternoon from SpaceX's base near the US-Mexican border. Separating from its booster, Starship soared into orbit and released 26 advanced Starlink satellites, completing 14 orbits around Earth. The spacecraft's heat shield, vital for its return, appeared to function well. However, SpaceX is investigating why the booster's engines shut down prematurely during its descent, causing the watery landing and self-destruction.

Despite this setback, SpaceX expects to resume launching Starships from Florida's Kennedy Space Center within the next few months, paving the way for NASA's Artemis missions, including the first moon landing since Apollo.