The dramatic capture, worthy of science fiction, helped erase the messy failure of the booster. Cameras filmed the spacecraft up and down as it hung above the ground, supported by the arms of the launch tower.
“Can you believe it?” » shouted SpaceX commentator Dan Huot, dragging out each word. “Look at her! Baby, she’s back!”
Shortly after, Musk congratulated his “incredible team.” SpaceX officials said Saturday’s capture demonstrated the Starship’s full reusability, crucial for rapid and inexpensive recycling. Although Friday’s recall capture failed, the company had already performed three previous recall captures, validating the technique.
NASA welcomed Saturday’s news. The space agency is paying billions of dollars for Starship to land Artemis astronauts on the moon later this decade and help build a permanent moon base. Musk’s ambitions are even greater: he wants to launch a fleet of spaceships to build a city on Mars.
“It was almost magical,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said via X. “Making more and more believers every day.”
The world’s largest and most powerful rocket — a 407-foot (124-meter) behemoth — blasted off Friday afternoon from SpaceX’s Starship base near the U.S.-Mexico border. Separating neatly from its booster before things went wrong, the upper stage spacecraft rocketed into orbit and released 26 advanced Starlink satellites.
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