SpaceX Makes History: Starship Spacecraft Caught by Launch Tower for First Time During 15th Test Flight

November 15, 2026

Starbase, Texas: SpaceX has made history with its Starship project by successfully capturing the upper stage of the vehicle using the mechanical arms on its launch tower for the first time.

The spacecraft (Ship 42) completed a 15th test flight of the vehicle on November 14 after launching from SpaceX’s Starbase in Texas a day earlier.

The vehicle entered the atmosphere and was captured by the massive mechanical arms — often referred to as ‘chopsticks’.

This is the first time that the upper stage of Starship has been successfully captured using the tower and will play an important role in achieving SpaceX’s goal of creating a fully reusable rocket.

Starship Completes 14 Orbits Around Earth

Starship launched from SpaceX’s Starbase in South Texas on November 13. This was the 15th test flight of the vehicle and aimed to capture the Super Heavy booster and upper stage.

The two-stage rocket separated from one another, allowing the Starship to continue its journey into orbit. Ship 42 completed 14 orbits of the Earth during its 22-hour plus mission.

The spacecraft also successfully released 26 Starlink V3 satellites as part of its mission.

On November 14 Ship 42 performed a deorbit burn and re-entered the atmosphere. It then flew into position above the launch tower.

The vehicle then fired up its engines, put itself into a vertical position and began descending. The massive mechanical arms then captured the spacecraft as it hovered over the launch pad.

This was almost 22.5-hours after launch.

Super Heavy Failed To Capture

Whilst the spacecraft was captured successfully, SpaceX were unable to capture the Super Heavy booster.

After separating from the Starship, the lower stage began its journey back to the launch site but was unable to complete the capture. It changed course to perform an ocean landing in the Gulf of Mexico.

SpaceX added: “Initial indications are that the boostback burn finished prematurely due to a low mass of fuel. The booster guidance system realised the vehicle wasn’t in the correct position to be captured so it aborted.”

This resulted in the Super Heavy booster splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico. Whilst SpaceX made history by capturing the Starship spacecraft for the first time ever, they couldn’t capture the two stages of the rocket.

The Super Heavy booster has been captured three times before, but this is the first time that SpaceX have attempted to capture the upper stage of Starship using the tower.

Why Capturing Starship Is A Major Achievement

SpaceX are building Starship as a fully reusable transportation system, hoping to capture both stages of the rocket.

The mechanical arms on the launch tower — nicknamed ‘chopsticks’ — are designed to capture the returning vehicles rather than requiring them to land on separate platforms or splash down.

Capturing the vehicle can help save time and resources whilst preparing it for another flight. Reusability plays a key role to SpaceX’s goal of making space transportation more frequent and affordable.

The most recent test flight also gave important data about the spacecraft’s performance in orbit, satellite deployments, re-entering the atmosphere and capturing.

Starship is a key component to SpaceX’s future ambitions in space, with the vehicle being selected by NASA as the lander for their Artemis programme. Starship will be used to send astronauts back to the Moon.

Whilst capturing the spacecraft is a huge achievement, SpaceX will need to prove that they can reliably capture and reuse both stages before their fully reusable rocket is operational.