SpaceX catches Starship upper stage from orbit for the first time

A first for the Starship catch

SpaceX has caught the upper stage of its Starship rocket from orbit for the first time, according to CNBC Technology. The recovery happened on Saturday at the company's Starbase facility in Texas, using mechanical arms on the launch tower that are known as chopsticks.

The flight, Test Flight 15, was the first time the company tried to recover both parts of the rocket in a single mission. The upper stage, which is the spacecraft itself, circled Earth 14 times before returning to land on the tower, nicknamed Mechazilla.

Booster lost a day earlier

The mission began on Friday with a setback. SpaceX failed to catch the booster, the lower section of the rocket, and diverted it to an offshore splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. CNBC reports that it exploded before reaching the water.

Despite that loss, the upper stage continued into orbit and completed its flight plan. The successful catch on Saturday followed the booster failure by one day.

Airspace and ground stops during the flight

The flight caused temporary disruption. The Hawaii Department of Transportation paused some West Coast flights on Friday because of the risk of falling debris. That order has since been lifted.

Separately, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a rare nationwide ground stop, which CNBC attributes to failures in telecommunications systems. This restriction has also been lifted.

Why reusability matters to SpaceX

Making Starship fully reusable is central to SpaceX's plans. In the short term, the company needs the rocket to launch more satellites for its Starlink internet service, which CNBC describes as the company's main source of profit.

NASA also expects to use Starship to carry astronauts and supplies between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface. Elon Musk has set a longer-term goal of using the rocket for journeys to Mars.

Starlink satellites on board

Test Flight 15 also carried commercial cargo. SpaceX released 26 of its newest Starlink v3 satellites during the flight, adding to its network in low Earth orbit.

The constellation already held more than 11,000 satellites, according to CNBC. The company has said a single Starship can carry up to 60 of the v3 satellites, so reliable recovery of the rocket would lower the cost of expanding the service.