SpaceX (SPCX) successfully caught its massive Starship spacecraft at its Texas launchpad on Saturday, marking a major breakthrough in its push to build a fully reusable rocket. The spacecraft returned from orbit and was captured by the mechanical arms of SpaceX’s launch tower, known as Mechazilla. The achievement brings Elon Musk’s company closer to its goal of making heavy space launches cheaper and more frequent.
The successful catch was the highlight of Starship’s 15th test flight, which began Friday afternoon at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas. After spending nearly 22 hours in space, the spacecraft fired its engines to slow its descent before moving into position between the tower’s giant arms.
SpaceX had previously caught its Super Heavy booster using the same system, but this was the first time it had recovered the Starship spacecraft itself. The successful landing gives engineers a chance to inspect and potentially refurbish the vehicle for another flight.
Despite SpaceX’s bright Saturday, SPCX stock dropped 0.6% on Friday and an additional 2.05% in after-hours trading, to $136.26.
However, the mission wasn’t a complete success. SpaceX had planned to catch both the Supe...