SpaceX catches Starship with launch tower arms for first time

Elon Musk's SpaceX made history after its Starship spacecraft returned from orbit and was caught by giant mechanical arms at the company's Texas launch facility for the first time. The milestone came roughly 22 hours after Starship launched from SpaceX's Starbase facility, although the company fell short of its goal of recovering both stages of the rocket after its Super Heavy booster exploded over the Gulf of Mexico.

During its 15th test flight, Starship deployed 26 Starlink satellites and completed 14 orbits before returning to the launch site, where the tower's mechanical arms caught the spacecraft. SpaceX previously caught its Super Heavy booster three times, but the latest attempt failed after its engines shut down prematurely during descent, prompting a diversion and explosion over the Gulf of Mexico.

NASA is relying on Starship technology for its Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon.