During its 15th test flight, the giant Starship spacecraft from Elon Musk's SpaceX company achieved a successful landing. The vehicle returned to the launch tower in Texas from which it had been launched and was caught in mid-air by mechanical 'arm' manipulators at the top of the launch tower.
Orbital flight details
The mission lasted more than 22 hours. During this time, the spacecraft completed 14 orbits around the Earth and deployed a batch of Starlink satellites into orbit. The successful return of the central vehicle marks the first instance of recovering a part of the system as part of the company's decade-long effort to create a fully reusable rocket.
Despite the success of the main spacecraft, the rocket's lower stage—the Super Heavy booster—exploded over the Gulf of Mexico shortly after launch. During the Starship landing, it was positioned without issue between the giant levers at the top of the tower, which have been nicknamed "chopsticks."
Context
SpaceX is a technology company founded on March 14, 2002, headquartered in Boca Chica. Tests are conducted in the state of Texas.
