SpaceX successfully catches 'Starship' at launch pad for the first time
SpaceX successfully recovered Starship at the launch pad in Texas, marking a significant technological achievement.
Translated by Qiyas from الجريدة — Original source
Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully recovered a spacecraft at its launch pad for the first time on Saturday, as Starship returned safely to Starbase in Texas after about a day in orbit.
The vehicle emerged from the clouds as it crossed the continent on its descent trajectory, coming to rest vertically between two robotic arms above Launch Complex 2.
The success of the operation marks a milestone in the space sector’s decades-long efforts to develop fully reusable rocket systems, which could significantly reduce mission costs and enable higher launch rates.
SpaceX spokesperson Dan Hut said, “This long-desired achievement in spaceflight—having the vehicle descend amid flames and be caught by steel arms from the air—has been realized. We caught Starship, and now everything will change.”
Crowds gathered on the Gulf of Mexico shore near Starbase cheered as the vehicle settled between the robotic arms during the fifteenth test flight of the world’s largest and most powerful rocket system.
Starship, which lends its name to the rocket system, completed 14 orbits around Earth and deployed 26 satellites for Musk’s Starlink internet constellation during the 22-hour mission.
The vehicle recovery was more complex than catching the Super Heavy booster, which SpaceX had previously retrieved three times, as Starship descended from a much higher altitude and at a significantly greater speed.
Jesse Anderson, an official in the Starship program, said before the operation that its success would demonstrate that an orbital launch vehicle can be fully recovered at its launch pad.
Clayton Swob, a space affairs expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, described the mission as a “huge technical achievement” proving that the concept of fully reusable Starship is viable. He added, “Let’s see how long it takes them to repeat it.”
SpaceX engineers plotted the return trajectory so that the vehicle would fly over sparsely populated desert areas and several towns before executing a wide turn around the Rio Grande Valley cities in Texas and approaching the landing site from the east.
Lars Blackmore, a senior engineer at the company, said before the return, “To return to the Texas coast, we had to fly over the entire continent. This inevitably meant flying over land, and we spent a lot of time determining the safest path.”
NASA is counting on Starship to serve as a lunar lander under the Artemis program.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated Musk and SpaceX on Saturday, writing on the X platform, “It was like magic (...) and the number of believers grows day by day (...) another step toward the Moon.”
However, the Starship project has faced delays as the company seeks to address engineering challenges, including refueling the vehicle in orbit—a process for which the company has not yet found a solution and which is essential for any mission to the Moon or Mars.
The Super Heavy booster still requires further refinement. After a technical issue during its descent on Friday, its trajectory was diverted toward the Gulf of Mexico off the launch site, and it self-destructed in a ball of fire before hitting the water.
SpaceX is heavily investing in expanding its production and launch capabilities after raising approximately $85.7 billion during its initial public offering in June.
During a tour of the company’s 93,000-square-meter facility in Starbase on Friday, SpaceX officials told reporters that the company has now achieved the capacity to produce a spacecraft every two weeks and a reusable rocket booster every four weeks.
