00:02SpaceX's Starship made a triumphant return to Earth on Saturday caught in midair by giant
00:07mechanical arms where its journey began 22 hours earlier. It was the first ever capture of a
00:14Starship flying back from space, marking a milestone in the space industry's decades-long
00:19pursuit of fully reusable rocket systems, a goal that can drastically reduce mission costs and
00:25make more frequent launches possible. But with the first-stage booster exploding shortly after
00:30Friday's liftoff from Texas, the company fell short of its desired double-catch, still the goal for
00:36accelerating moon and Mars travel. It was the 15th test flight of the world's biggest and most
00:42powerful rocket system. Up until now, spaceships have been single-use items, discarded or destroyed
00:49after missions, making each launch an expensive resource-intensive venture.
00:54SpaceX had previously captured returning booster rockets three times. However, the catch of
00:59Starship was more complex because the spaceship fell much faster and from a much higher altitude
01:04compared to boosters.
