SpaceX catches a spacecraft in midair for the first time - VIDEO
America's SpaceX has successfully returned the Starship upper stage to the launch pad in Texas — for the first time in the company's history, a stage returning from orbit was caught by the mechanical arms of the launch tower.
As 1news.az reports citing The Guardian, the spacecraft completed a 22-hour mission, making 14 orbits around the Earth.
This 15th test mission was initially planned as the first attempt at a "double catch," during which SpaceX hoped to return both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage to the launch pad. However, a few minutes after liftoff, the booster deviated from its course and exploded over the Gulf of Mexico.
SpaceX representative Dan Huot stated that the guidance, navigation and control (GNC) system detected that the booster was not in the correct position for the catch and automatically initiated an abort of the mission. SpaceX head Elon Musk also reported that the booster was experiencing "a slight shortage of fuel."
Despite the failure with the booster, this mission still became an important milestone for SpaceX. The Starship upper stage reached Earth orbit for the second time and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites.
