SpaceX achieved a milestone in space exploration as its Starship spacecraft successfully returned from orbit and was caught upright by the mechanical arms of the launch tower in Texas, marking the first time an orbital rocket's upper stage has achieved a controlled landing at its launch site.

SpaceX achieved a milestone in space exploration as its Starship spacecraft successfully returned from orbit and was caught upright by the mechanical arms of the launch tower in Texas, marking the first time an orbital rocket's upper stage has achieved a controlled landing at its launch site.

SpaceX achieved a milestone in space exploration as its Starship spacecraft successfully returned from orbit and was caught upright by the mechanical arms of the launch tower in Texas, marking the first time an orbital rocket's upper stage has achieved a controlled landing at its launch site.

In a landmark moment, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has successfully brought its Starship spacecraft back from orbit and caught it upright in the mechanical arms of its launch tower.

The achievement marks the first time an orbital rocket’s upper stage has returned from space and made a controlled, upright landing at its launch site.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated Musk and the SpaceX team, describing the achievement as an almost magical moment.

“Congrats to Elon Musk and the SpaceX team! It was almost magic... Making more believers by the day... one step closer to the Moon,” Isaacman said in a post on X.

Wreckage remained in the Gulf of Mexico, cordoned off by buoys, as the stainless-steel, bullet-shaped spacecraft descended upright onto the launch pad, where the giant mechanical arms, nicknamed ‘Mechazilla’, caught it.

“Congratulations to an incredible team at SpaceX!!!” Musk said in a post on X.

SpaceX officials said Saturday’s catch demonstrated Starship’s full reusability, which is crucial for rapid and low-cost turnaround. Although Friday’s booster recovery attempt failed, the company had already completed three successful booster catches, validating the technique.

Starship lifted off from Starbase in Texas on Friday for its 15th flight and returned to the same facility today, completing a mission that included reaching orbit, deploying satellites and executing a controlled return to Earth.

The spacecraft remained in orbit for more than 20 hours while SpaceX’s flight control team monitored its systems and prepared for its return.

SpaceX said Starship navigated back towards the Texas coast, performed a final manoeuvre over the Gulf and approached the same launch site from which it had departed approximately 22.5 hours earlier.

SpaceX's dominance in the global launch industry is centered on its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, which has launched over 700 times since 2010. That rocket's first stage is reusable, but its

second stage - the part that delivers payloads into orbit - is discarded into the ocean after each flight.

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