SpaceX accomplished a significant engineering feat on Sunday by successfully catching its first-stage booster rocket as it returned to the launch pad following a test flight. This event is a crucial step in the company’s efforts to develop a reusable vehicle for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
The “Super Heavy” booster took off from SpaceX’s Boca Chica launch site in Texas, propelling the Starship second-stage rocket into space. After reaching an altitude of approximately 70 kilometers, the booster separated to begin its descent back to the launch pad, marking the most challenging part of the test.
To slow its descent, the booster reignited three of its 33 Raptor engines and aimed for the launch pad and the associated tower, which stands over 120 meters tall—taller than the Statue of Liberty. The tower is equipped with two large metal arms at its apex.
As the 71-meter-tall Super Heavy booster approached, it fell into the tower’s arms, securing itself in place with small protruding bars located under its four forward grid fins, which had guided its flight.
“The tower has caught the rocket,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced on X after the successful catch, prompting cheers from the engineers watching the live stream.
This innovative catch-and-land method represents a significant advancement in SpaceX’s ongoing development of a fully reusable rocket designed to transport larger cargo into orbit, facilitate human missions to the Moon for NASA, and eventually reach Mars—Musk’s ultimate goal.
Meanwhile, the Starship, which is the upper stage of the rocket system, traveled at speeds exceeding 27,300 kph, reaching an altitude of 140 kilometers as it headed toward the Indian Ocean near Western Australia for a controlled splashdown about 90 minutes into its flight.
As Starship re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere horizontally, cameras onboard captured the spectacular sight of superheated plasma enveloping the ship’s Earth-facing side and its steering flaps, showcasing the intense hypersonic friction it experienced.
The ship is protected by 18,000 heat-shielding tiles, which had been improved since its last test in June when Starship completed a full flight but suffered damage during re-entry.
This time, Starship appeared intact as it reignited one of its six Raptor engines to position itself for the simulated ocean landing.
The live stream showed the rocket making contact with the ocean waters off the coast of Australia before tipping onto its side, marking the end of its test mission.
A separate camera view from a nearby vessel revealed the ship exploding into a massive fireball, eliciting cheers from SpaceX engineers on the live stream. It remains unclear whether the explosion was planned or caused by a fuel leak.
Musk noted that the ship landed “precisely on target.”
First introduced by Musk in 2017, Starship has faced multiple explosions during various test stages in the past, but it successfully completed a full flight in June for the first time.
On Saturday, the US Federal Aviation Administration granted SpaceX a launch license for this fifth test after weeks of tension between the company and the regulatory body.
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