For the first time in history, SpaceX has returned its Starship spacecraft to the launch tower after an orbital flight, catching it above the ground with the mechanical arms of the Mechazilla system in South Texas.
Starship lifted off from the SpaceX base in Texas on 13 November. During the flight it placed 26 Starlink satellites into orbit and spent around 22 hours in space, completing 14 orbits of the Earth. The spacecraft then began its descent towards the launch pad, where it was caught by the mechanical arms.
However, SpaceX did not attempt to catch the Super Heavy booster this time. Its engines shut down too early during the return, after which the guidance system automatically steered the booster towards the water and initiated the self-destruct procedure. Super Heavy exploded over the Gulf of Mexico.
The company said that the return of Starship demonstrates that the spacecraft can be fully reusable. This is critically important for rapid and low-cost reuse. And although a ‘double catch’ (of both the spacecraft and the booster) was not achieved this time, the company has previously caught first stages successfully three times.
