Starship returned to Earth, first use of launch tower mechanical catchers

Historic success in reusability technology

SpaceX has reached a new stage in the development of its space technologies: for the first time in history, it managed to catch the orbital spacecraft Starship using the mechanical "arms" of the launch tower after returning from orbit. This was reported by Reuters.

Mission details and flight results

The mission lasted 22 hours. During this time, the spacecraft completed 14 full orbits around the Earth. The main task was to deploy 26 Starlink network satellites into orbit. After completing the flight programme, the spacecraft successfully returned to the spaceport in Texas, where it was caught by special gripping mechanisms.

Differences in approaches to stage recovery

Previously, Elon Musk's company had used the mechanical catch technology exclusively for the recovery of the first stage — the Super Heavy booster. However, during the latest mission, only the Starship itself was recovered, while the Super Heavy booster was not caught.