SpaceX’s Starship returns from orbit and is captured by launch pad arms in a dramatic first

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX’s Starship made a triumphant return to Earth on Saturday, caught in midair by giant mechanical arms where its journey began 22 hours earlier.

It was the grand finale that Elon Musk and his team hoped for — the first-ever capture of a Starship flying back from space. But with the first-stage booster exploding shortly after Friday’s liftoff from Texas, the company fell short of its desired 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.

The dramatic, sci-fi-like capture helped blot out the booster’s messy miss. Cameras panned the spacecraft up and down as it hung hgh above the ground, supported by the arms of the launch tower.

“Can you believe it?” SpaceX commentator Dan Huot shouted, dragging out each word. “Look at her! Baby, she’s back!”

SpaceX officials said Saturday’s catch demonstrates the full reusability of Starship, intended for moon and Mars travel. Although Friday’s booster recovery failed, the company had already made three previous booster catches, validating the technique.

NASA welcomed Saturday’s news. The space agency is paying billions of dollars for Starship to land Artemis astronauts on the moon later this decade and help build a permanent lunar base. Musk’s ambitions are even grander: He wants to launch a fleet of Starships to build a city on Mars.

“It was almost magic,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said via X. “Making more believers by the day ... one step closer to (emojis of the moon and the U.S. flag)."

The world’s largest and most powerful rocket — a 407-foot (124-meter) behemoth — blasted off late Friday afternoon from SpaceX’s Starship base near the U.S.-Mexican border. Separating neatly from its booster before things went awry, the upper-stage spacecraft soared into orbit and released 26 advanced Starlink satellites.

Starship continued circling the world 165 miles (265 kilometers) up, with live views of itself and Earth streaming down via Starlink. The spacecraft completed 14 laps around Earth, outshining the previous mission’s one to two laps.

It was SpaceX’s 15th flight of a full-scale Starship since 2023 and its only second trip to orbit.

SpaceX reported that everything on the spacecraft, including its vital heat shield, appeared to work well.

As for the booster, SpaceX’s Kate Tice said its engines stopped firing too soon on the way back down. The booster’s guidance system sensed it wasn’t in the right position and automatically initiated the watery detour and self-destruction. Engineers are still investigating the cause.

SpaceX expects to begin launching Starships from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center within the next few months. That is the starting point for NASA’s next Artemis mission, which will skip the moon and remain in orbit around Earth for lunar lander practice.

Artemis III’s four astronauts will attempt to dock their capsule with not only Starship but Blue Origin’s Blue Moon. The two companies will take turns delivering crews to the lunar surface. NASA is targeting as soon as 2028 for Artemis IV, humanity’s first moon landing since the Apollo era more than half a century ago.

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SpaceX's mega rocket Starship returns to its launch pad to be caught by the launch tower following a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship returns to its launch pad to be caught by the launch tower following a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship returns to its launch pad to be caught by the launch tower following a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship returns to its launch pad to be caught by the launch tower following a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship returns to its launch pad to be caught by the launch tower following a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship lifts off for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

HELSINKI (AP) — Jordan Staal returned from injury, Andrei Svechnikov and Mark Jankowski each scored twice and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Seattle Kraken 5-1 on Saturday to sweep the NHL’s Global Series in Finland’s capital.

The Hurricanes (16-3-2) followed on their dominant 4-1 victory on Thursday and extended their winning streak to four.

Carolina became the first NHL franchise to win each of its first four regular-season games played outside North America following a sweep of a 2010 series against the Minnesota Wild, also in Helsinki.

Jackson Blake also scored for the Hurricanes, Nikolaj Ehlers had three assists and Shayne Gostisbehere had two assists and Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 12 shots for his 12th win in 13 games.

Svechnikov scored on power plays with two identical goals from the right circle in the middle period, one-timing a precise snap shot to make it 3-0 and another for a 4-1 advantage. He has five goals in his four-game point streak and has 11 goals on the season.

His second goal with 9:55 left in the second period prompted the Kraken to pull Joey Daccord after he allowed four goals on 14 shots. Philipp Grubauer made 22 saves in relief.

Matty Beniers scored for the Kraken (9-8-1) to reduce the deficit to 3-1.

Blake beat Daccord with a snap shot after Sebastian Aho sent him a backhand pass in between his legs in the first period. Blake extended his career-best point streak to 11 games.

Jankowski doubled that advantage with 2:30 left in the period. He added his second with 8:54 left in the final period, tapping in a precise pass from Taylor Hall.

Staal, Carolina's captain, played his first game for the reigning champions after missing 14 following a calf tear on Oct 11. The 38-year-old center skated on the third line alongside wingers Seth Jarvis and Jordan Martinook and played 13:55.

The game Saturday was the 50th contested outside North America and ninth in Helsinki to tie Prague, with only Stockholm hosting more.

The NHL returns to Europe next month, this time to grow the fan base in Germany with a series between the Ottawa Senators and the Chicago Blackhawks in Düsseldorf on Dec. 18 and 20.

Kraken: Host Canucks on Thursday.

Hurricanes: Host Montreal on Thursday.

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

Seattle Kraken Matty Beniers celebrates after scoring their first goal against the Seattle Kraken during the NHL Global Series ice hockey game in Helsinki, Finland, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (Antti Aimo-Koivisto/Lehtikuva via AP)

Carolina Hurricanes goalkeeper Pyotr Kochetkov defends against Seattle Kraken's Mackie Samoskevich and Ryan Winterton during the NHL Global Series ice hockey game in Helsinki, Finland, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. ( Antti Aimo-Koivisto/Lehtikuva via AP)

Carolina Hurricanes Sebastian Aho (20) tries to score past Seattle Kraken goalkeeper #31 Philipp Grubauer (31) during an NHL Global Series hockey game in Helsinki, Finland, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (Antti Aimo-Koivisto/Lehtikuva via AP)