Despite the unprecedented maneuver to retrieve the Ship, the 15th flight of the megarocket did not go completely as planned.
The first-stage Super Heavy booster was supposed to push the Ship through the densest parts of the atmosphere, and then make its way to the launchpad. But minutes after launching, a low-fuel alarm forced the booster to abandon its trajectory toward the base, and it autocorrected to splash into the Gulf of Mexico.
Meanwhile, the Ship continued to an altitude of roughly 170 miles, deployed Starlink satellites, and circled the planet 14 times over the course of 22 hours before returning for its own catch.
Saturday’s successful catch serves as a crucial milestone in SpaceX’s push to build the first fully reusable rocket.
Most rockets are incredibly expensive, and launch providers generally discard them after a single use. The company wants to change that by making rockets more like airplanes.
At a conference in September, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Starship is designed “not just [for] full reusability but also rapid reusability, like an aircraft.”
Beyond its main long-term goal of bringing people to Mars, the company plans to use the rocket for other key priorities, including Starlink launches.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated the company on its achievement on X: “Congrats to @elonmusk and the @SpaceX team! It was almost magic … Making more believers by the day … one step closer to [the moon].”
