New Delhi, Nov. 15 -- Elon Musk-owned SpaceX on Saturday (local time) pulled off the first-ever 'catch' of a spaceship, marking a milestone in the space industry's decades-long pursuit of fully reusable rocket systems.

SpaceX officials said Saturday's catch demonstrates the full reusability of Starship, crucial for rapid and low-cost recycling. Although Friday's booster recovery failed, the company had already made three previous booster catches, validating the technique.

According to Reuters, the 171-foot-tall Starship fell out of thick clouds over SpaceX's Starbase launch site, reignited engines to flip itself vertical, and slowly descended into the tower's "Mechazilla" arms, engines still roaring. Charred from the blazing heat of its...