Watch: SpaceX achieves historic first by catching Starship's upper stage
What's the story
SpaceX has successfully caught the upper stage of its massive Starship rocket for the first time. The milestone was achieved after a 22-and-a-half-hour flight that saw the 124-meter-tall (407-foot) vehicle launch from Boca Chica, Texas. The top part of the rocket continued its journey into space and deployed 26 satellites as part of SpaceX's Starlink constellation, which provides high-speed internet services.
Recovery goals
SpaceX's recovery plan
The successful catch of the upper stage, or "Ship," by SpaceX's launch tower was a major milestone in the company's ambitious recovery plan.
The company hopes to make both the top and bottom sections of Starship fully reusable. This is part of its strategy to fly more frequently and significantly cut costs.
However, SpaceX had to abort its plans to catch lower stage, or Super Heavy booster, just minutes after launch due to automated abort triggered by the booster itself.
Recovery history
Catching the ship
SpaceX has previously succeeded in catching the Super Heavy Booster on three test flights. However, this was the first time they managed to catch the upper stage of the rocket with their "chopsticks."
Before this flight, SpaceX had said it would only attempt to catch the Ship after carefully assessing its performance in space.
Any problems would have led to a controlled ocean landing, similar to what happened with the booster.
Future challenges
NASA's Moon mission
SpaceX's progress with Starship has direct implications for NASA's ambitious plan to land humans on the Moon by 2028.
The company has a contract with NASA to configure the Ship into a lander that will eventually take astronauts down to the lunar surface.
However, there is still much work to be done in the coming months to meet these commitments, as the pace of development has been slower than initially intended.
Twitter Post
Mechazilla catching Starship
Mechazilla catches Starship! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on this incredible achievement! pic.twitter.com/YJzmGUZb2B
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 14, 2026