Watch: World’s most powerful rocket makes history with epic catch
SpaceX pulls off a massive engineering feat, catching its Starship booster with ‘chopsticks’ after launch!
SpaceX launched its towering 122m Starship for the fifth time yesterday from its Starbase facility in South Texas, but this time made history by pulling off a controlled return.
The mission marked a major milestone in both Starship’s development and the future of space travel, as SpaceX attempted a groundbreaking feat – returning the massive first-stage booster, Super Heavy, to the launch pad and catching it with the tower’s ‘chopstick’ arms.
The mission – part of SpaceX’s plan to develop a fully reusable rocket – was a resounding success.
“Following a successful lift-off, ascent, stage separation, boost back-burn and coast, the Super Heavy booster performed its landing burn and was caught by the chopstick arms of the launch and catch tower at Starbase.
“Thousands of distinct vehicle and pad criteria had to be met before the catch attempt, which succeeded on its first attempt,” says SpaceX.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2024
