Elon Musk’s SpaceX has successfully caught the upper stage of the reusable Starship rocket for the first time, using the launch tower’s mechanical arms in Texas. This happened on 14 November after more than 22 hours of flight.
This is reported by The New York Times.
The 124-metre-tall rocket system was launched on 13 November from the Starbase launch site in Boca Chica, Texas.
During the flight, Starship deployed 26 next-generation Starlink satellites into orbit and completed 14 orbits of Earth at an altitude of about 275 kilometres.
During this test, SpaceX planned to catch for the first time not only the ship’s 52-metre upper stage, but also the 72-metre lower stage — the Super Heavy booster. However, during its return over the Gulf of Mexico, problems arose with the control system. The company said that it then activated the booster’s flight termination system.
Mechazilla catches Starship! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on this incredible achievement! https://t.co/YJzmGUZb2B
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 14, 2026
The Super Heavy lower stage had previously been successfully returned to the launch site in October 2024.
In the longer term, SpaceX plans to reuse both stages of Starship. The company has previously successfully recovered and reused Falcon 9 boosters, but their upper stages do not return to Earth after launch.