SpaceX Achieves Major Milestone with Successful Catch of Starship Booster

SpaceX has marked a groundbreaking achievement with its fifth Starship test flight, with the company successfully catching the Super Heavy rocket booster midair using giant mechanical arms. The accomplishment happened in the early morning hours on October 13, 2024, at its Starbase facility near Boca Chica, Texas., marking an engineering feat that has redefined reusable spaceflight technology.

The mission began at 7:25 am local time, as the Super Heavy booster ignited its 33 Raptor engines and lifted off into the sky, carrying the second-stage Starship rocket. After reaching an altitude of around 74 kilometers (46 miles), the booster separated from Starship, which continued on its path toward space, targeting a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

What truly set this test apart from previous ones was SpaceX’s ambitious attempt to catch the booster as it returned to Earth. The enormous 71-meter booster began its descent back toward the launch site, guided by its grid fins and a series of precisely timed engine relights.

As it neared the launch pad, the massive metal “chopsticks” attached to the launch tower extended outward, ready to capture the booster, and everything went exactly according to plan.

Starship rocket booster caught by tower pic.twitter.com/aOQmSkt6YE
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 13, 2024

This successful catch marks a significant leap toward SpaceX’s goal of creating a fully reusable space transportation system. While SpaceX has been recovering Falcon 9 boosters for almost a decade, the Starship system’s scale and complexity require a more advanced recovery mechanism. Falcon 9 boosters typically land on drone ships or concrete pads, whereas the Super Heavy booster’s catch method introduces a new level of precision and engineering innovation.

The ultimate goal of the Starship program is to use the system to ferry astronauts to the moon under NASA’s Artemis program, and eventually send humans to Mars. By mastering the reuse of both stages of the rocket, Super Heavy and Starship, SpaceX hopes to drastically reduce the cost of space missions, enabling more frequent launches and expanding the possibilities for space exploration and colonization.

You can watch the full test flight video below.