SpaceX catches Starship rocket at the launch tower for the first time

For the first time, the US space company SpaceX has managed not to let a rocket crash, but to land it safely - at least partially. The upper stage of the giant Starship rocket system has been recovered from Earth after an all-space test flight. Around 20 hours after launch, the Starship returned in a controlled manner to the Starbase spaceport in the US state of Texas and was picked up there by gripper arms on the launch tower.

However, there had previously been a setback for tech billionaire Elon Musk's space company during the 15th test flight: the lower rocket stage was actually supposed to be picked up again by gripper arms on the launch tower, but that didn't work. The booster, called Super Heavy, returned to Earth shortly after launch, but crashed into the sea in a controlled manner and burst into flames.

SpaceX initially did not provide any information about the possible cause of the failure. In three previous test launches, the lower rocket stage had been successfully intercepted. The upper rocket stage, called Starship, entered Earth orbit shortly after separating from the lower rocket stage and deployed satellites for Musk's Starlink Internet service. She then circled the earth several times.

The last test flight of the Starship took place in September. The largest rocket system ever built made it into Earth orbit for the first time and then crashed into the Pacific in a controlled ball of flames around three hours later.

The Starship rocket system is huge, even larger than the Statue of Liberty in New York. It consists of two parts that separate after launch: the approximately 70 meter long booster Super Heavy and the upper stage - also called Starship - which measures around 50 meters. Both parts are designed to be reused after returning to Earth.