SpaceX achieved a major milestone in its Starship program on Saturday, successfully capturing the Starship vehicle with its "Mechazilla" launch and catch tower for the first time. This historic "chopstick" catch marks a significant advancement in the company's pursuit of rapid reusability for its megarocket.
The successful catch followed an earlier unsuccessful attempt to capture the rocket's booster, which instead splashed down in the ocean. Starship Flight 15 had launched on Friday afternoon with the ambitious goal of a double catch, orbiting the Earth approximately 14 times over 22 hours before returning to Starbase, Texas. While the booster catch was aborted, the successful recovery of the Starship itself provides crucial data for future missions.
SpaceX Successfully Catches Starship for First Time in Historic Flight 15
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Sources
- Watch SpaceX successfully execute the first ‘chopstick’ catch of Starship — The Verge,
- SpaceX Catches the Starship to end Flight 15 — Hacker News - Official RSS,
- Starship flight 15 powers to orbit—setting up a possible catch on Saturday — Ars Technica,
- SpaceX Starship megarocket blasts off before expected return for reuse — The Guardian World,
- SpaceX to attempt double catch of huge Starship rocket — BBC Science & Environment,