SpaceX pulls off first-ever spaceship ‘catch’ as Starship spacecraft returns from orbit | Video

SpaceX's Starship spacecraft returned after a journey in orbit on Saturday and was successfully caught by the mechanical arms of its launch tower in Texas. This marked a major technical achievement as it was the first-ever "catch" of a spacecraft.

SpaceX Starship 42 returns from orbit to the launch pad on the 15th test flight from the SpaceX launch complex in Starbase, Texas, US, November 14, 2026. (REUTERS)The milestone also demonstrated the potential of fully reusable rockets, which could make space travel more affordable.

The 171-foot-tall spacecraft descended through thick clouds over SpaceX's Starbase launch facility before reigniting its engines to turn upright and slowly approach the launch tower. Its two small fittings near the top were caught by the mechanical arms, allowing the spacecraft to hang above the ground, as reported by news agency Reuters.

The spacecraft had completed 14 orbits around Earth before returning to the same facility from which it had taken off on Friday. It was charred from the heat of atmospheric re-entry but remained stable after its engines shut down.

SpaceX mission commentator Dan Huot described the achievement as a major breakthrough, according to Reuters. "That was the missing link, the holy grail of spaceflight," Huot said. Starship lifted off from SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas on Friday for its 15th flight.

During the mission, it reached orbit and deployed 26 Starlink satellites at an altitude of around 161 miles (260 km). According to SpaceX, the Super Heavy booster initially lifted the rocket using 33 Raptor engines before separating from Starship through a hot-staging manoeuvre.

The spacecraft then continued its journey using six Raptor engines. The booster attempted to return to the launch site but could not complete the planned recovery. Its boostback burn ended earlier than expected because of low fuel mass, according to SpaceX.

The vehicle subsequently diverted to an offshore landing location following an automated abort triggered by its guidance, navigation and control system. Starship, meanwhile, continued its mission and remained in orbit for more than 20 hours.

After deploying the satellites, the spacecraft began preparing for its return. It reignited one of its engines to perform a deorbit burn before descending through Earth's atmosphere towards the Texas coast. Three Raptor engines then ignited to help it turn upright and slow down before the mechanical arms caught it.

The successful recovery is an important step in SpaceX's plan to bring both stages of its rocket system back to Earth for reuse. The company's Falcon 9 rocket already allows the recovery and reuse of its first stage. However, its second stage, which carries payloads into orbit, is discarded into the ocean after each flight.

With Starship, SpaceX aims to develop a system that can travel to space and return in a way similar to commercial aircraft, requiring minimal refurbishment between missions. However, the company has not yet recovered both stages of Starship in a single mission.

Its heat shield, made up of hundreds of black hexagonal tiles designed to protect the spacecraft during atmospheric re-entry, also requires further development before it can be reused with little or no refurbishment. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk congratulated the teams involved in the mission, sharing photographs and videos of the recovered spacecraft on X.

"Congratulations to an incredible team at SpaceX!!!" Musk said in a X post. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman also congratulated the company, describing the achievement as a step towards future lunar missions. "Congrats to @elonmusk and the @SpaceX team!

It was almost magic..Making more believers by the day....one step closer," Isaacman said in an X post.