In a groundbreaking achievement for space exploration, SpaceX has successfully caught its Super Heavy booster rocket mid-air following the fifth test flight of its Starship spacecraft.
The feat, accomplished today at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, marks a significant step towards the company’s goal of rapid rocket reusability. The mission, dubbed Flight 5, lifted off at 5:54 pm IST from the launch pad. Approximately two and a half minutes into the flight, the Super Heavy booster separated from the Starship upper stage as planned.
While Starship continued its journey towards a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean, all eyes turned to the returning booster.
In a maneuver never before attempted, the 232-foot-tall Super Heavy booster executed a series of precise burns to align itself with the launch tower. As it descended, the massive structure known as “Mechazilla” came to life. Its robotic arms, affectionately nicknamed “chopsticks,” extended to embrace the incoming rocket.
At T+6 minutes and 37 seconds after liftoff, history was made as the chopstick arms successfully caught the Super Heavy booster, gently cradling it as the engines shut down. The capture was met with thunderous applause from SpaceX employees and space enthusiasts worldwide who watched the live stream.
The successful catch is the culmination of years of development and months of rigorous testing. SpaceX engineers had poured countless hours into perfecting the intricate dance between the descending booster and the launch tower’s arms.
While the primary focus was on the booster catch, the Starship upper stage also performed admirably, completing its planned trajectory before splashing down in the Indian Ocean. This dual success demonstrates the viability of SpaceX’s ambitious Starship program, which aims to revolutionize space transportation.
NASA officials, closely monitoring the test flight, expressed enthusiasm about the implications for future lunar missions. The space agency has contracted SpaceX to develop a version of Starship for its Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon.