SpaceX catches Starship upper stage for the first time in history VIDEO

Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship spacecraft, following a 22-hour orbital test flight, has for the first time landed by being caught with robotic arms at the launch pad, the BBC reports. 

The spacecraft was caught by mechanical robotic "arms" on the launch tower at 16:16 US Eastern Standard Time (00:16 Minsk time).

SPACEX HAS JUST CAUGHT STARSHIP! This is the first-ever catch of an orbital-class upper stage spacecraft that has gone to orbit, survived reentry, and returned for recovery by the tower’s chopsticks. CONGRATS @SpaceX!!! https://t.co/GPEAwVPJzv

— Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzpatane) November 14, 2026

During the landing broadcast, the song "Baby Come Back" by the band Player was playing.

“This was the Holy Grail of spaceflight. We caught Starship, and now everything will change,” said SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot.

The 124-meter-tall rocket successfully lifted off from the Starbase spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas, on Friday at 22:45 GMT.

According to SpaceX, during the flight the spacecraft deployed 26 internet satellites into orbit to expand the Starlink constellation.

Earlier, SpaceX called off an attempt to catch the lower stage of the Starship rocket during the test launch.

The lower stage was planned to be caught using mechanical "arms" on the launch tower, which many compared to chopsticks. Instead, the stage was directed into the ocean, where it splashed down.

This is the first attempt to fully recover both stages of the Starship rocket. According to the developers' vision, both will be reusable, thereby driving down launch costs.

The launch was streamed live. Commenting on the decision not to attempt catching the lower stage, a SpaceX spokesperson said: “Safety is always priority number one. When we are testing things we haven’t done before, the primary goal for us is to be sure that every maneuver can be executed safely.”

During the three previous launches, SpaceX succeeded in catching the lower stage. Until now, the upper stage had always splashed down in the ocean.

SpaceX has long sought to develop a fully reusable rocket. The Falcon 9 rocket features a reusable lower stage. This rocket launches more than 100 times a year, and booster reuse has significantly reduced expenses.

Cost reductions are being closely monitored by SpaceX shareholders—the company went public this year—as well as NASA.

The success of Starship will directly impact NASA's plans to land humans on the Moon in 2028. This is a very ambitious deadline.

At the same time, SpaceX faces competition from billionaire Jeff Bezos's company Blue Origin, which has also been awarded a NASA contract to develop a lunar lander.

NASA is pursuing such ambitious timelines due to competition with China, which plans to land its taikonauts on the Moon by 2030, noted agency head Jared Isaacman.

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