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In its fifth Starship test flight, SpaceX successfully returned the rocket’s first-stage booster using giant mechanical arms for the first time.?
This fifth flight test, which took place on October 13, focused on two goals: the first successful “catch” of the Super Heavy booster at the Texas launch site and Starship’s successful descent into the Indian Ocean. While the splashdown was accomplished in June, the booster catch represents a significant milestone in rocketry.
Watch Starship's fifth flight test https://t.co/LVrCnTv797
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 12, 2024
SpaceX Launches and Lands Super Heavy Booster Successfully
The Super Heavy booster, carrying the Starship second stage, launched at 7:25 a.m. CT (12:25 GMT) from SpaceX’s Starbase site in Boca Chica, Texas. After reaching an altitude of 70 km (40 miles), it separated and began its return. The booster reignited three Raptor engines to slow down for landing at the launch pad, where a tower over 400ft tall awaited.
As it descended, the 233ft (71m) booster roared into the tower’s arms—nicknamed the “chopsticks” by SpaceX—securing itself with small bars beneath its four forward grid fins.
The tower has caught the rocket!!
pic.twitter.com/CPXsHJBdUh— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 13, 2024
At the same time, Starship, the rocket system’s upper stage, coasted to the opposite side of the planet before executing a controlled re-entry. It endured peak heating and maximum aerodynamic pressure, flipped, and completed a landing burn before landing in the Indian Ocean and exploding. The flight test lasted 1 hour, 5 minutes, and 40 seconds.
SpaceX did not plan to salvage the spacecraft this time. However, the company intends to return the Starship upper stage to the landing site during future test launches.
This new catch-landing method significantly advances SpaceX’s test-to-failure campaign for a completely reusable rocket designed to transport more cargo into orbit, carry humans to the moon for NASA, and ultimately reach Mars, Musk’s envisioned destination.
SpaceX received clearance for its suborbital test flight only on Saturday, October 12. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initially planned to delay a modified launch certificate until November. However, it later confirmed that SpaceX met all safety and ecological standards, despite Musk’s criticism of the agency’s proposed fines and calls for the FAA administrator’s resignation.?
