SpaceX makes history! Starship returns from space and gets caught midair by giant mechanical arms, Sundar Pichai reacts

In a first-of-its-kind manoeuvre, Starship made a controlled, upright landing at its launch site in Starbase, Texas, on November 14, with the help of the massive mechanical arms of SpaceX's launch tower, nicknamed 'Mechazilla'.

The historic catch marked the first time a Starship spacecraft returning from space was caught by the launch tower's mechanical arms. The manoeuvre, which took place approximately 22.5 hours after liftoff, is being viewed as a significant breakthrough that could reshape the future of rocket reusability.

Reacting to the achievement, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on X: "Congratulations to an incredible team at SpaceX!!!"

What happened?

Starship lifted off from SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas on Friday, November 13, as part of its 15th flight. It returned to the same launch site on Saturday, November 14, completing a mission that included reaching orbit, deploying satellites and executing a controlled return to Earth.

According to SpaceX, Flight 15 began with the Super Heavy booster lifting off from Pad 2 at Starbase, powered by 33 Raptor engines. Following a successful first-stage ascent, the vehicle performed a hot-staging manoeuvre, allowing Starship to continue its journey towards space using its six Raptor engines.

The Super Heavy booster then performed a directional flip and reignited 32 of its planned 33 Raptor engines for the boostback burn. However, the burn ended earlier than planned because of low fuel mass, with the root cause still under investigation.

During the subsequent coast phase, the booster's guidance, navigation and control system triggered an automated abort and successfully diverted it towards an offshore landing location. It then executed a landing burn over the Gulf of Mexico, with its engines shutting down while it hovered above the water. Following engine shutdown, the booster's flight termination system was activated.

Meanwhile, Starship completed its planned ascent burn and entered a brief coast phase before reigniting a single Raptor engine for orbital insertion.

Once in orbit, Starship deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites. SpaceX said contact was established with all the satellites shortly after deployment, and they began raising their orbits to join the Starlink constellation.

Following the payload deployment, Starship entered an extended coast phase around Earth. After more than 20 hours in space, the SpaceX flight control team began preparations for its return to the launch site.

Starship successfully reignited a single sea-level Raptor engine to perform its deorbit burn, taking it out of orbit and setting it on a course towards Earth's atmosphere.

The spacecraft then navigated its way back towards the east coast of Texas, performed a final swoop manoeuvre over the Gulf of Mexico and approached the same launch site from which it had departed approximately 22.5 hours earlier.

After emerging from the clouds, three Raptor engines ignited to execute the landing flip and slow Starship's descent. The spacecraft then settled into the waiting mechanical arms of Mechazilla, which closed around it to complete the first-ever tower catch of a returning Starship.

Reactions

The historic achievement drew enthusiastic reactions from technology leaders and space enthusiasts.

Demis Hassabis, co-founder of Google DeepMind, described the feat as one of the coolest things he had ever witnessed.

"One of the coolest things I've ever seen!! Loved the thunderclap as the starship dropped out of the heavens, before the catch. True alien tech. Huge congrats @elonmusk and the @SpaceX team! The whole stack is now proven out. Ad Astra!" he wrote on X.

John Kraus, Special Communications Assistant to the NASA Administrator, also celebrated the milestone.

"Ship 42 returns to Starbase, Texas for the first-ever Starship tower catch during Flight 15! I have dreamt of creating this image for years... and today it became real. Congrats, SpaceX team!" he wrote.

Microsoft CEO Sundar Pichai expressed his excitement over the achievement, saying it still felt like science fiction.

"Congrats @SpaceX for that starship catch, still feels like science fiction! Watching it live was incredible. Upwards!" he wrote on X.