SpaceX successfully catches upper stage of Starship rocket for the first time
SpaceX has successfully caught the upper stage of its Starship rocket on its return to Earth for the first time, marking a major milestone for the launch system. The recovery took place at the company's launch site in Texas, where the top section—known as the Ship—was secured by mechanical arms mounted on the launch tower. These specialized arms, nicknamed "chopsticks," caught the descending spacecraft as large crowds gathered at the site cheered the historic maneuver.
The company had originally intended to catch both the bottom and upper stages of the rocket using the tower's chopstick arms during the operation. However, the catch of the lower booster was aborted just a few minutes after Friday's launch. Following the abort, the booster was diverted toward the ocean, where it burst into flames just above the surface of the sea.
Despite the failure to retrieve the booster, the rocket's top stage completed its journey the following day. Arriving a few minutes behind schedule at approximately 15:27 local time (21:27 GMT) on Saturday, the Ship safely returned to Earth and was caught by the waiting tower arms. The successful catch secures the upper part of the huge vehicle on its return from flight for the very first time.
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