Starship returns to Earth after 22 hours and is caught mid-air by SpaceX

SpaceX's Starship returned to Earth on November 14, 2026, after 22 hours in space and was caught in mid-air by giant mechanical arms at the same site from which it had departed in Texas. The maneuver marked the first successful capture of such a spacecraft returning from an orbital trip. The 124-meter-tall vehicle took off in the late afternoon of November 13, 2026, marking the 15th flight of a full-scale Starship since 2023 and its second journey to Earth orbit. During the mission, the spacecraft reached an altitude of 265 kilometers, completed 14 laps around the planet, and deployed 26 advanced Starlink satellites. However, SpaceX failed to recover both parts of the vehicle: the first-stage booster stopped functioning earlier than expected during descent and exploded after an automatic diversion toward the Gulf of Mexico, where its debris was contained in an area isolated by buoys. Company representatives stated that the capture demonstrates the full reusability of Starship, which is designed for missions to the Moon and Mars. NASA celebrated the achievement, highlighting the multi-billion dollar partnership for transporting astronauts from the Artemis program to the lunar surface later this decade. The American space agency plans to carry out the Artemis IV mission in 2028, following proximity and docking exercises in Earth orbit.