Watch SpaceX successfully execute the first ‘chopstick’ catch of Starship

After aborting a planned catch of Starship Flight 15’s booster, SpaceX successfully captured Starship with its “Mechazilla” launch and catch tower for the first time. The company has performed ‘chopstick’ catches of its boosters before, but this is the first time the maneuver has successfully been executed on the Starship vehicle itself.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call that “success is not guaranteed on these first flights, but I’d say it’s more likely than not that this succeeds next flight.” While not a complete success, in that the company was unable to recover the entire launch vehicle, it still stands as a milestone for the Starship program. And, since it has previously caught boosters on previous launches, there is reason to believe the failure today was not an insurmountable obstacle. SpaceX is still trying to determine what caused the booster to abort its landing and detonate over the Gulf of Mexico.

In the video above, you can watch Starship plunge through the clouds, flip vertically, and, with surprising grace, ease itself between the waiting arms of Mechazilla at around 4:20 PM ET.