SpaceX's Starship set for return to Earth after booster catch aborted

SpaceX's Starship spacecraft was "healthy" as it orbited the Earth and on track to return Saturday to its Texas launch site, where Elon Musk's company was planning to "catch" the vehicle for the first time.

It was the 15th test flight of the world's biggest and most powerful rocket system, originally meant to feature a groundbreaking twin capture of both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship.

Successful recoveries of both stages would have marked a milestone in the space industry's decades-long pursuit of fully reusable rocket systems that can drastically reduce mission costs and make frequent launches possible.

But that achievement slipped out of reach minutes after the 124-meter (407-foot) rocket blasted off Friday afternoon from its launch pad at Starbase.

After the mid-air separation of the two stages, the Super Heavy booster was initially set for capture at Launch Pad 2, SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot said.

But near the end of its descent, "the booster aborted itself for a GNC (guidance, navigation and control) issue that it detected," he said.

It diverted instead to the Gulf of Mexico just off the launch site, where it automatically self-destructed before hitting the water.

Meanwhile, the Starship spacecraft that gives the rocket system its name was orbiting the Earth, which it was expected to do 14 times before returning Saturday.

"Starship and its heat shield are healthy," SpaceX said around seven hours after the mission started.

"We're not tracking any issues right now with the vehicle or with the range for our return, so everything continuing to look good," Huot said.

Starship on Friday launched 26 satellites to join others in Musk's Starlink satellite internet constellation.

AFP