SpaceX for the first time succeeded in catching the Starship orbital spacecraft with two arms of the launch tower

SpaceX achieved the first safe return of StarshipSpaceX succeeded in recovering the Starship orbital vehicle at the launch tower of Starbase, in southern Texas, during the 15th test flight of its space transportation system. The maneuver marked the first time the company held the upper stage, known as Ship, with the two arms of the structure from which it lifted off. The result focused attention on a phase that until now had not been part of the vehicle's flights: its return to the exact point of departure after spending more than 22 hours in space. The operation required the vehicle to traverse the atmosphere, reduce its speed, correct its trajectory, and execute a final burn with precision sufficient to approach the tower. The test also included the insertion of Ship into low Earth orbit and the deployment of 26 Starlink V3 satellites. The flight, therefore, combined operational objectives for the internet constellation with tests aimed at the future use of Starship as a reusable vehicle for large-scale missions, including those planned within NASA's Artemis program. Ship's return required checking its systems for more than 21 hours in space; the mission included three descent decision points - REUTERS/Steve NesiusThe liftoff occurred yesterday at 22:47 GMT from the Starbase facilities. The combination of the 72-meter Super Heavy booster and the 50-meter Ship vehicle cleared the tower without incident. Its 33 Raptor 3 engines generated more than 18 million pounds of thrust, the power needed to lift a system designed to carry large payloads to orbit and beyond. At two and a half minutes, the booster completed main engine cutoff and separated from Ship. The vehicle then ignited its own Raptor engines, while Super Heavy began a return maneuver toward the Texas coast. The ascent followed the planned profile, although the company ruled out attempting to recover the booster with the tower's arms. The Super Heavy v3 Booster exploded yesterday upon returning to Earth - REUTERS/Joe SkipperInstead of that maneuver, Super Heavy carried out a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico about six and a half minutes after launch, but exploded on contact with the water. SpaceX did not immediately specify the reason for the decision. The cancellation showed that the company maintains alternatives for each phase of the flight and avoids an approach to the tower when the vehicle's condition does not offer the required conditions. Flight 15 carried Ship to an orbit of 275 kilometers; the 26 Starlink V3 satellites added a terabit of data capacity - SpaceX While the booster descended, Ship continued its ascent. The first ignition of its engines concluded about eight minutes after liftoff. A second activation, lasting approximately 20 seconds, placed the vehicle in low Earth orbit, at an altitude of about 275 kilometers, at 26 minutes and 10 seconds into the mission."We have achieved a nominal orbital insertion, so Starship is now in orbit around Earth for the second time. It's a really great moment," said Dan Huot of SpaceX. The immediate precedent was found in flight 14, launched on September 28, when Starship reached orbit for the first time and released another group of 26 Starlink V3 satellites. Mission 15 repeated that deployment capability and added a return demonstration aimed at solving one of the program's central challenges: preserving the vehicle for reuse. The first recovery of the upper stage brings Starship closer to full reusability; SpaceX projects up to 10,000 launches annually - REUTERS/Steve NesiusThe V3 satellites represent the new generation of SpaceX's connectivity network. According to the flight plan, the 26 devices contribute a terabit of data capacity to the constellation. That figure equals the capacity load that ten launches of Starlink V2 satellites with Falcon 9 rockets would provide, according to information released by the company. Three V3 units carried cameras pointed toward Ship after their release. The goal was to obtain images of the heat tiles and other external sections of the vehicle, in order to check for possible damage after ascent. That data provided an additional reference before authorizing Starship's return to Starbase."Starship will only return to the launch site if the flight control team has ensured that the vehicle systems critical to reentry maneuvers, the final landing burn, and the approach to the tower are in good condition," SpaceX wrote before the acclaimed landing. The vehicle traveled a route away from cities in the Rio Grande Valley before turning over the Gulf of Mexico toward Starbase - REUTERS/Steve NesiusThe vehicle completed 14 orbits around the planet before beginning the return phase. That period allowed the teams to review telemetry, verify the health of the systems, and decide whether the vehicle could attempt a direct approach to the tower. The mission had three opportunities to opt for an early descent into the Pacific Ocean if an anomaly or significant uncertainty appeared. The first decision point came shortly after the Starlink deployment; the second was located at seven hours and 15 minutes into the mission; the last, at 20 hours and 41 minutes. Those windows reflect the prudence of an operation that introduces an unprecedented maneuver over an active launch zone and near populations in southern Texas. The vehicle's four flaps controlled the path over the Gulf of Mexico; the trajectory avoided the cities of the Rio Grande Valley - SpaceX Deorbit began about 21 hours and 36 minutes after liftoff, with a burn of about 10 seconds. That maneuver modified Ship's trajectory and directed it toward southern Texas. About 35 minutes later, the vehicle entered the dense layers of the atmosphere to face the phase of greatest thermal and aerodynamic stress. During descent, Starship used four movable flaps, called flaps, which control its orientation and help keep it within a defined flight corridor. These surfaces allow the vehicle to adjust its path before the final landing maneuver. The route avoided the main cities of the Rio Grande Valley, passed north of South Padre Island, and traced a turn over the Gulf of Mexico before returning to Starbase. Residents of Cameron County heard sonic booms during the approach. The phenomenon occurs when a vehicle exceeds the speed of sound and generates shock waves perceived as one or several brief thunderclaps. Their intensity depends on atmospheric variables and the trajectory; SpaceX noted that it does not imply a health risk, although it can be audible to nearby communities. The Starship 42 vehicle, aboard the Super Heavy v3 Booster 22, lifts off on its 15th test flight from SpaceX's launch complex in Starbase, Texas, USA, on November 13, 2026. SpaceX plans to return and recover the booster and the Starship after launch. REUTERS/Steve NesiusThe company introduced changes to Ship's thermal protection system for this flight. These included reinforcements at the tile attachment points, especially in areas where they could come loose during ascent. It also incorporated corrections to prevent plasma from reaching spaces located behind that protective covering. In addition, it installed curved pieces over a wider area of the outer surface. The geometry seeks to limit heating in the gaps between tiles during atmospheric return. The functioning of these elements is decisive because a reusable vehicle must withstand ascent, exposure to vacuum, reentry, and landing without requiring a complete rebuild after each flight. The recovery of Ship represented the first success of this kind for Starship's upper stage. SpaceX had already recovered three Super Heavy boosters of the V1 version and reused two of them in subsequent flights. However, the upper stage presents additional challenges: it reaches orbit, remains in space for longer, and reenters the atmosphere at much higher speeds. Three Starlink V3 satellites observed Ship's external condition after deployment; the cameras provided data to decide the return - REUTERS/Joe SkipperThe bet on recovering both components responds to the scale of SpaceX's plans. The company expects Starship to carry much larger batches of Starlink V3 satellites and support a future orbital infrastructure for data centers. Elon Musk, the company's founder and CEO, has proposed a constellation of about 100,000 next-generation satellites and a network linked to artificial intelligence ten times larger. Those projects would require a launch frequency that current systems cannot sustain at moderate costs. Musk set the goal of reaching 10,000 Starship flights per year by 2030. The objective depends on rapid recovery, simpler inspections, and vehicles capable of returning to service without long repair periods. Reliability also conditions SpaceX's commitments to NASA. The agency chose a variant of Starship as one of the crewed lunar landing modules of the Artemis program. Planning contemplates a demonstration mission linked with Orion and the Artemis III crew in Earth orbit during the summer of 2027, before a future landing of astronauts on the lunar surface.