"Still Feels Like Science Fiction": Sundar Pichai Congratulates SpaceX After Historic Starship Catch

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has congratulated SpaceX after the company achieved a major milestone in space exploration by successfully catching its Starship spacecraft in the mechanical arms of its launch tower during its latest flight test. Describing the achievement as something that still feels like science fiction, Pichai said watching the manoeuvre live was an incredible experience. In a post on X, he wrote, "Congrats @SpaceX
For that starship catch, it still feels like science fiction! Watching it live was incredible. Upwards."

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk responded with a 'Thanks' along with a heart emoji.

See the post here:

Congrats @SpaceX for that starship catch, still feels like science fiction! Watching it live was incredible. Upwards!

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) November 14, 2026

The historic manoeuvre took place during Starship's 15th flight test on November 14. It marked the first time an orbital rocket's upper stage returned from space and was caught upright at its launch site by giant mechanical arms nicknamed Mechazilla. According to SpaceX, Starship lifted off from the company's Starbase facility in Texas on Friday. The spacecraft entered orbit, deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites and remained in space for more than 20 hours before beginning its return journey.

After about 22.5 hours in flight and 14 revolutions around Earth, Starship reignited one engine to begin its descent. It navigated through Earth's atmosphere and approached its launch site before three Raptor engines fired to slow it down for the final landing manoeuvre.

The spacecraft emerged from the clouds and descended between the giant mechanical arms of the launch tower, which caught it upright in a precisely executed manoeuvre.

However, the mission also faced a setback involving the Super Heavy booster, which separates from Starship during launch. After separation, the booster attempted to return towards the launch site, but its boostback burn ended earlier than planned because of insufficient fuel, SpaceX said. Its guidance system subsequently triggered an automatic abort, diverting the booster towards an offshore landing location. It performed a landing burn over the Gulf before its flight termination system was activated.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman also congratulated Musk and the SpaceX team, describing the achievement as an almost magical moment that could bring more people closer to the possibilities of space exploration. 

"Congrats to Elon Musk and the SpaceX team! It was almost magic... Making more believers by the day... one step closer to the moon," Isaacman said in a post on X.

Congrats to @elonmusk and the @SpaceX team! It was almost magic..Making more believers by the day....one step closer to 🌖🇺🇸 https://t.co/PYs9yNQMdg

— NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (@NASAAdmin) November 14, 2026

If successfully developed for regular missions, the technology could reduce launch costs, limit the need to discard expensive rocket hardware and make space travel more frequent.