SpaceX’s Starship made a triumphant return to Earth on Saturday (US time), caught by giant mechanical arms on its launchpad.
asserted
Starship → make → launchpad
It was the grand finale that Elon Musk and his team hoped for – the first-ever capture of a Starship returning from space.
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Musk → hop → space
As the first-stage booster exploded shortly after Friday’s liftoff from Texas 22 hours earlier, the company fell short of its desired double catch, still the goal for accelerating moon and Mars travel.
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company → explode → travel
Booster wreckage was still cordoned off in the Gulf of Mexico, as the sleek stainless-steel spacecraft lowered itself upright onto the pad, sci-fi style.
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spacecraft → cordone → pad
The capture helped blot out the booster’s messy miss.
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capture → blot → miss
Cameras panned up and down the spacecraft, supported by the arms of the launch tower.
“Look at her!
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Cameras → pan → her
Baby, she’s back!” shouted SpaceX commentator Dan Huot, then Musk congratulated his “incredible team”.
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Musk → ’ → team
SpaceX officials said the catch demonstrated Starship’s capacity for full re-use, crucial for rapid and low-cost recycling, while three previous booster catches validated the technique.
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catches → say → technique
NASA welcomed Saturday’s news.
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NASA → welcome → news
The space agency is paying billions for Starship to land Artemis astronauts on the moon later this decade and help build a permanent lunar base.
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agency → pay → base
Musk’s ambitions are even grander: he wants to launch a fleet of Starships to build a city on Mars.
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he → want → Mars
“It was almost magic,” NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said via X. “Making more believers by the day ... one step closer.”
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Isaacman → say → day
He added emojis of the moon and the US flag.
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He → add → moon
The world’s largest and most powerful rocket – a 124-metre behemoth – blasted off from the Starship base near the US-Mexican border, separating neatly from its booster before things went awry.
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things → blast → booster
The upper stage spacecraft soared into orbit and released 26 advanced Starlink satellites.
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spacecraft → soar → satellites
From 265 kilometres up, Starship streamed down live views of itself and Earth via Starlink.
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Starship → stream → Starlink
The spacecraft completed 14 orbits, outshining the previous mission.
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spacecraft → complete → mission
SpaceX reported that all equipment, including the craft’s vital heat shield, appeared to work well.
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equipment → report → shield
As for the booster, SpaceX’s Kate Tice said its engines stopped firing too soon on the way back down – its guidance system sensed it was out of position and automatically initiated the watery detour and destruction.
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it → say → detour
Engineers are investigating.
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Engineers → investigate → ?
SpaceX expects to begin launching Starships from Florida’s Kennedy centre within months.
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SpaceX → expect → months
That is the starting point for NASA’s next Artemis mission, which will skip the moon and remain in orbit around Earth for lunar lander practice.
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which → skip → practice
Artemis III’s four astronauts will attempt to dock their capsule with both Starship and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon.
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astronauts → attempt → Starship
The two companies will alternate delivering crews to the lunar surface.
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companies → alternate → surface
NASA is targeting as soon as 2028 for Artemis IV, humanity’s first moon landing since the Apollo era more than half a century ago.
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NASA → target → era
The Aporia
