Video: Elon Musk's SpaceX Pulls Off First-Ever Spaceship 'Catch'

SpaceX successfully performed the first-ever catch of its Starship spacecraft on Saturday during the 15th test flight of the rocket system. After surviving the extreme heat of re-entry and orbiting Earth 14 times, the vessel emerged from a cloudy sky and descended over Starbase. It was caught by mechanical "chopstick" arms mounted on the launch tower above Launch Pad 2. SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot described the recovery of the ship as the "Holy Grail of spaceflight."

The mission followed a booster explosion on Friday when SpaceX was unable to catch the booster, forcing it toward an offshore landing in the Gulf of Mexico where it burst into flames, according to Hindustan Times - World News. During this 15th test flight, the Starship spacecraft deployed 26 satellites for the Starlink constellation during its 22-hour journey, the New Straits Times reported.

Elon Musk congratulated the SpaceX team and shared videos of the vessel hanging between the mechanical arms, stating that the spaceship looks great, according to NDTV. The successful recovery of the upper stage marks a milestone in the pursuit of fully reusable rocket systems, a goal intended to reduce mission costs and enable more frequent launches.

Brief written by urgent.news from NDTV, Free Malaysia Today, Le Monde English, New Straits Times, Hindustan Times - World News — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.