SpaceX Starship snatched from sky by mechanical arms in historic first

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SpaceX's Starship has made a historic return to Earth, caught in mid-air by giant mechanical arms in a milestone for reusable rocket technology - though the first-stage booster exploded and fell into the Gulf of Mexico

SpaceX's Starship has made a spectacular return to Earth, snatched from the sky by enormous mechanical arms in the nail-biting finale that Elon Musk and his team had been banking on. It marked the first-ever capture of a Starship returning from space.

However, the first-stage booster exploded shortly after Friday's lift-off from Texas, meaning the company narrowly missed its coveted double catch.

Wreckage remained in the Gulf of Mexico, cordoned off by buoys, as the stainless steel, bullet-shaped spacecraft lowered itself upright at the launch pad.

"Can you believe it?" SpaceX commentator Dan Huot shouted, dragging out each word. "Look at her! Baby, she's back!" Shortly afterwards, Mr Musk congratulated his "incredible team".

SpaceX confirmed that everything aboard the spacecraft, including its critical heat shield, appeared to perform flawlessly. Officials stated that Saturday's catch demonstrates the complete reusability of Starship, which is designed for travel to the Moon and Mars.

While Friday's booster recovery proved unsuccessful, the company had already achieved three previous booster catches, firmly establishing the validity of the technique.

Nasa welcomed the development, with the space agency committing billions of dollars for Starship to ferry Artemis astronauts to the Moon later this decade and assist in constructing a permanent lunar base.

Elon Musk has stated his ultimate ambition is to launch a fleet of Starships to establish a city on Mars. Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman wrote via X: "It was almost magic. Making more believers by the day ... one step closer to (emojis of the moon and the US flag)."

The world's largest and most powerful rocket — a 407ft behemoth — launched late on Friday afternoon from SpaceX's Starship facility near the US-Mexico border.

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