SpaceX Starship returns to launch tower after orbital flight

SpaceX's Starship spacecraft returned to its Starbase launch site in Texas on Saturday, descending after a 22-hour orbital flight and being caught by the mechanical arms of the launch tower. The ship had lifted off the previous day from the same site, and the catch is a key step in the company's long effort to build a fully reusable rocket.

The Super Heavy booster, however, failed to return to the launch pad about 10 minutes after liftoff, so SpaceX did not recover both parts of the rocket as planned. The ship orbited Earth 14 times and deployed 26 Starlink satellites before its return.

The heat shield tiles are not yet fully reusable, and both Starship stages have not yet been recovered in a single mission.