Two enormous metal arms closed around an orbital vehicle returning from space. This Saturday, November 14, 2026, SpaceX achieved a major milestone in its Starship program.
On its fifteenth test flight, Starship spent more than 22 hours in space, completed 14 orbits of Earth, and deployed 26 satellites. But its return to Earth was what everyone was really waiting for. For the first time, SpaceX attempted to catch the second stage of its giant rocket directly on its launch tower.
A flight that got off to a rough start
Starship had launched the previous day from SpaceX's spaceport in Texas. Both stages of the rocket were supposed to return to their starting point in succession.
Starship 15 at liftoff.
Photo: SpaceX.
However, a few minutes after liftoff, the first stage, Super Heavy, could not be caught. Its navigation system detected that the conditions for a catch were not met.
The booster was then directed toward the Gulf of Mexico, where it exploded, as planned for this scenario.
A landing... on the water. Then the booster explodes.
Photo: SpaceX.
The Starship spacecraft continued its mission. It reached low Earth orbit and deployed 26 third-generation Starlink satellites.
Some of these satellites were equipped with cameras that could observe the spacecraft's heat shield from space. The images helped engineers check its condition before atmospheric reentry.
Returning from space straight into the tower's arms
About 22 and a half hours after liftoff, Starship returned to its starting point. The spacecraft passed through Earth's atmosphere, protected by its thousands of thermal tiles.
It used its body and movable flaps to control its descent. As it neared the ground, it reignited its engines to rotate upright and slow its fall. The launch tower's two articulated arms, nicknamed Mechazilla, then caught the spacecraft, holding it several meters above the ground.
SpaceX had already performed this maneuver with the first stage of its rocket, but the challenge here was of a different order. The second stage returns from Earth orbit at an initial speed of around 28,000 km/h. Its heat shield must therefore withstand much harsher conditions.
Toward a fully reusable rocket
With its Falcon 9 rockets, SpaceX regularly recovers the first stage, but not the second. Starship was designed to go further: eventually, neither stage should be lost permanently during a launch.
Catching the spacecraft directly on the tower also eliminates the need for landing legs, saving mass.
SpaceX now has to show that the recovered spacecraft can be refurbished and flown again quickly. The goal is to launch the same rocket repeatedly with minimal work between flights, much like an aircraft.