Google CEO Sundar Pichai has praised SpaceX after its Starship spacecraft completed a historic catch at the company's launch site in Texas on November 14. The milestone marked the first time the spacecraft's upper stage was caught by the mechanical arms of its launch tower after returning from orbit.
Sharing his reaction on X, Pichai said he had watched the manoeuvre live and found it incredible. “Congrats @SpaceX for that starship catch, still feels like science fiction! Watching it live was incredible. Upwards!” he wrote. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk responded with a brief “Thanks”.
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What is SpaceX's Starship catch?
The achievement came during Starship's 15th flight test. According to Reuters, the spacecraft spent around 22.5 hours in flight, completed 14 orbits of Earth and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites before heading back to its launch site.
{{/usCountry}}The achievement came during Starship's 15th flight test. According to Reuters, the spacecraft spent around 22.5 hours in flight, completed 14 orbits of Earth and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites before heading back to its launch site.
{{/usCountry}}As it approached the tower at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas, Starship reignited its engines to slow its descent and position itself upright. Two large mechanical arms, nicknamed chopsticks, then caught the returning spacecraft. The tower system is also known as Mechazilla.
Unlike a conventional rocket landing, where a vehicle touches down on landing legs, this method allows the launch tower to catch and hold the spacecraft directly.
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Why is the Starship catch significant?
This was the first time SpaceX successfully caught Starship's upper stage after it returned from orbit. The company had previously demonstrated the technique with the Super Heavy booster, which forms the first stage of the rocket. The latest test showed that the much larger spacecraft could also be brought back to the launch site and caught.
SpaceX is developing Starship as a fully reusable launch system. Recovering both stages could eventually reduce the time and cost involved in preparing rockets for future missions.
However, the test was not an entirely successful double recovery. The Super Heavy booster failed to return to the launch tower after liftoff, preventing SpaceX from catching both stages in the same mission, as The Associated Press reported.
The successful catch brings SpaceX closer to making Starship reusable, but the company must still show that the spacecraft can be inspected, refurbished and prepared for another flight.