‘Almost magic’ as SpaceX craft caught mid-air: Why it matters

On a cloudy Saturday afternoon in the southern US state of Texas, a pair of large metallic arms stretched out and caught a giant in midair as it descended from the sky. At 124 metres (407ft) tall, SpaceX’s Starship is the world’s largest and most powerful rocket, intended for travel to the Moon and Mars. Yet 22 hours after its latest blast off into space, it made history on Earth while returning, as it slipped smoothly between mechanical “chopstick arms” above Launch Pad 2 at Starbase city in Texas. Aerospace engineers across the globe have lauded the first-ever capture of the upper stage of a spaceship and welcomed the achievement, which signals that mega rockets could soon be fully reusable. On Saturday, after orbiting Earth 14 times for 22.