News /
SpaceX Catches Starship's Upper Stage Mid-Air
SpaceX pulled off the first-ever successful catch of Starship's upper stage using mechanical arms on its Texas launch tower.
SpaceX made history on Saturday, November 15, 2026, catching the upper stage of its Starship rocket - known as the Ship - as it returned from orbit, using a pair of mechanical arms on the launch tower at its Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. It's the first time a catch of the Ship has ever been completed successfully.
"Can you believe it?" a commentator exclaimed as crowds at the site erupted. No, honestly, we can't.
What Actually Happened
Starship is designed to be fully reusable. SpaceX's plan for each flight is to catch both stages, the Super Heavy booster at the bottom and the Ship at the top, using giant mechanical arms on the launch tower that the company calls "chopsticks."
Saturday's flight didn't go perfectly. The booster catch was aborted shortly after launch, and the Super Heavy was redirected to splash down in the ocean, where it broke apart just above the water. That's a setback, but it's the Ship catch that makes this flight historic.
The Ship returned to the launch tower at approximately 3:20 p.m. local time (9:20 p.m. GMT) on Saturday, slightly behind schedule, and the chopstick arms grabbed it cleanly. No ocean splashdown. No controlled ditching. It flew out and came back home.
Why This Is a Big Deal
The whole premise of SpaceX's Starship program is rapid, full reusability, the ability to land, refuel, and relaunch both stages in hours rather than months. That's what makes the economics of deep-space missions, including NASA's Artemis moon landings and eventual Mars ambitions, even theoretically viable.
Catching the booster was first demonstrated in October 2024, when SpaceX snagged the Super Heavy for the first time. Getting the Ship back in the same way is the next critical piece of that puzzle.
The gap between those two milestones, plus the booster abort on Saturday, shows how much can still go sideways on any given flight. But the Ship catch closes a major chapter in Starship's development.
What It Means for the Space Industry
For Canadians watching the space sector, this matters beyond the spectacle. Canada is a long-standing partner in NASA programs, contributing robotics technology through the Canadian Space Agency, including future Canadarm iterations planned for Artemis missions and the Gateway lunar space station. A reliable, reusable Starship is central to NASA's current timeline for returning astronauts to the moon.
SpaceX's reusability model also puts pressure on global launch providers. A fully reusable super-heavy-lift vehicle would dramatically cut the cost per kilogram to orbit, which affects satellite deployment, scientific missions, and the commercial space economy in which Canadian companies increasingly participate.
The booster abort is worth watching. SpaceX will need consistent catches of both stages before Starship can operate at the cadence the company is targeting. Saturday proved the Ship can come home safely; the next flight will aim to prove the whole system works end to end.