SpaceX catches a Starship vehicle with Mechazilla for the first time

After aborting a planned booster catch during Starship Flight 15, SpaceX successfully used its Mechazilla tower to catch the Starship vehicle itself—the first successful catch of that part of the launch system. The overall launch vehicle was not fully recovered.

The catch demonstrates a recovery option beyond SpaceX’s earlier booster catches, but the flight did not recover the entire launch vehicle. Operators evaluating reusable launch systems should distinguish a successful vehicle catch from end-to-end recovery; the article does not specify what prevented full recovery.