SpaceX successfully caught its Starship upper stage for the first time Friday, using the arms of the launch tower it left from in South Texas. The company launched Starship on its 15th test flight, a mission that set out to achieve some of SpaceX’s most ambitious goals yet.
SpaceX planned to attempt its first double catch this weekend. The Super Heavy V3 booster was set to return to the launch site and be caught by the tower’s chopstick arms. A day later, the Ship, the rocket’s upper stage, was to try the same maneuver. The company has caught and reflown V1 Super Heavy boosters a couple of times, but it has never before tried to catch a Ship.
Flight 15 achieved some of its main objectives, including placing 26 Starlink V3 satellites in orbit and catching the Ship. The first-stage booster, however, had a problem during its descent. It aborted the catch attempt and changed course toward the Gulf, where it exploded before reaching the water.
The Ship spent about 22 hours in orbit following launch before starting its return to the surface.
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