SpaceX Catches Orbital Starship With Mechazilla Arms After 22-Hour Flight
SpaceX 星舰第15次试飞（Flight 15）完成航天史上首次轨道飞船塔架回收：上面级 Ship 42 在轨道飞行超过 22 小时、绕地球 14 圈后重返大气层，于美东时间 11 月 15 日下午 4:20（直播画面显示捕获时刻为 T+22:35:03）被发射塔「Mechazilla」的筷子机械臂在空中稳稳接住，飞船降至约 0.4 公里高度时由塔架完成捕获。这意味着「快速完全复用火箭」的闭环正在成型。
已确认
- Ship 42 在轨飞行超过 22 小时、绕地球 14 圈（约 265 公里高度），期间部署 26 颗 Starlink V3 卫星，随后再入并返回发射场
- 飞船再入后翻转为竖直姿态、点火减速，被起飞时的同一座发射塔机械臂空中捕获，这是人类首次回收完成轨道飞行的星舰飞船/首次「飞船返航被原发射塔回收」
- 摄影师 David Diebold（Space Scout）用连续曝光拍下再入全程轨迹，John Kraus 在得州 Starbase 长焦连拍记录捕获全过程
- Everyday Astronaut、Ethan Mollick 等在 X 上热议，Mollick 评价「看起来像科幻小说成真」
尚未确认
- 超重型助推器的回收结果存在矛盾说法：@机器之心 与 @APPSO 报道称助推器因发动机提前关机、推进剂余量不足而自动放弃捕获并坠入墨西哥湾，「双回收」未实现；但 @XFreeze 发帖称星舰与超重型助推器均被成功捕获、SpaceX 已实现两级完全可复用。多数详细报道支持助推器坠海一说，「完全复用」的说法待官方确认
- @Polymarket 提到此前该平台对「Starship 2028 年前实现完全可复用」给出 73% 概率并称「现已兑现」，此判断同样取决于助推器是否真正回收
- @ChrisGPT 称此次为「第 42 次飞行」，与多数帖子所称的第 15 次试飞（Flight 15）不符，应以 Flight 15 为准（42 为飞船编号 Ship 42）
为什么重要
- 首次实现轨道级上面级整体回收，且由发射原塔完成，验证了与助推器相同的塔架捕获方案可推广到飞船，是迈向快速完全复用的关键一步
- 结合在轨 22 小时、部署 26 颗 Starlink V3 卫星，这次任务同时证明了星舰作为轨道运载与投放平台的能力，博主 @VraserX 称之为「把一个轨道上面级从天上接住」的史诗级工程成就
2026-11-15 ~ 2026-11-15 · 18 related posts
Primary sources
- Starship hurtles through atmosphere ahead of first-ever Mechazilla catch attempt — Polymarket · 2026-11-15
- SpaceX catches Starship upper stage with Mechazilla chopsticks after 22 hours in orbit — Polymarket · 2026-11-15
- SpaceX catches Starship booster with launch tower arms, Ethan Mollick: 'science fiction' — HarrySurden · 2026-11-15
- Polymarket had 73% odds on full Starship reusability — SpaceX just delivered early — Polymarket · 2026-11-15
- [source] SpaceX catches Starship with Mechazilla after 22-hour, 14-orbit mission deploying 26 Starlink V3 sats — XFreeze · 2026-11-15
- Starship Flight 42 booster caught by the same launch tower it launched from — ChrisGPT · 2026-11-15
- SpaceX catches both Starship and Super Heavy booster, achieving full reusability — XFreeze · 2026-11-15
- SpaceX Appears to Catch an Orbital Upper Stage Mid-Air — VraserX · 2026-11-15
- SpaceX catches Starship with launch tower arms on Flight 15 — Guodzh · 2026-11-15
- SpaceX catches Starship booster again — and it happened at exactly 4:20 PM ET — Kyrannio · 2026-11-15
- SpaceX catches returning Starship with giant mechanical chopsticks for the first time — Kyrannio · 2026-11-15
- SpaceX catches Starship ship with launch tower for the first time in history — esrtweet · 2026-11-15
- Starship caught by launch tower after 22+ hours in orbit, a first — aarthir · 2026-11-15
- SpaceX catches its second-stage spacecraft with launch tower chopstick arms for the first time — op7418 · 2026-11-15
- [source] Starship returns after 14 orbits and 22 hours, caught by Mechazilla arms — APPSO · 2026-11-15
- [source] SpaceX catches Starship returning from orbit for the first time, booster is lost — 机器之心 · 2026-11-15
- Stunning tracking shot captures Starship Ship 42's return and landing — Kyrannio · 2026-11-15
- SpaceX catches orbit-returning Starship for first time, captured in stunning tracking shot — chaitu · 2026-11-15