SpaceX pulls off first-ever spaceship 'catch'

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Elon Musk's SpaceX on Nov. 14 pulled off the first-ever "catch" of a spaceship, a technical feat showing the feasibility of fully reusable rockets that would bring affordable spaceflight one step closer to reality.

SpaceX's Starship upper-stage vessel descends towards the mechanical tower catch at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas on November 14, 2026. (AFP Photo)

Elon Musk's SpaceX on Nov. 14 pulled off the first-ever "catch" of a spaceship, a technical feat showing the feasibility of fully reusable rockets that would bring affordable spaceflight one step closer to reality.

The Starship emerged from the clouds after surviving the extreme heat of re-entering Earth's atmosphere, then descended slowly over SpaceX's south Texas Starbase before slipping smoothly between mechanical "chopstick arms" above Launch Pad 2.

The success marked a milestone in the space industry's decades-long pursuit of fully reusable rocket systems, a goal that can drastically reduce mission costs and make more frequent launches possible.

It was the 15th test flight of the world's biggest and most powerful rocket system. Up until now, spaceships have been single-use items, discarded or destroyed after missions, making each launch an expensive resource-intensive venture.

The Starship spacecraft that gives SpaceX's rocket system its name orbited Earth 14 times and deployed 26 satellites for Musk's Starlink internet constellation during its 22-hour journey.

SpaceX had previously captured returning booster rockets three times. However, the "catch" of Starship was more complex because the spaceship fell much faster and from a much higher altitude compared to boosters.

Some versions of Starship are designed to launch internet satellites and data centers into orbit, while other iterations will be made to ferry people to the Moon and Mars.

Blasts and sirens rang out over Bahrain and authorities urged residents to seek shelter on Nov. 15 as Iran's Guards said they had attacked a U.S. military base in the Gulf nation.

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