Ellen Phiddian
Cosmos science journalist
SpaceX’s Starship Super Heavy rocket has another notch in its belt, following the successful capture of the booster by the “chopstick” arms of a metal tower.
The reusable rocket booster returned to the launchpad 7 minutes after launch, where it was caught by the Mechazilla tower.
The successful launch is the fifth test flight of SpaceX’s Starship, which is touted by the company as a craft capable of crewed interplanetary flight. A modified version of the Starship has been adopted by NASA in its planned Moon missions.
The empty ship was launched, and the booster re-caught, at the SpaceX Starbase launchpad, on the coast of Texas near the US-Mexico border.
The Starship launched by the booster completed an hour-long flight around the Earth, before splashing down as planned in the Indian Ocean.
It’s the second test flight where the rocket hasn’t exploded, with the first successful recovery happening after its fourth test flight in June.
The booster, meanwhile, re-ignited 3 of its 33 engines, slowing its descent and allowing it to be guided back to the Mechazilla tower.
Previously, the Super Heavy booster has been collected from splashdowns in the Gulf of Mexico.
Once it can take off and land safely, the Starship aims to be able to carry up to 100 people on long-duration flights.
Its reusability – demonstrated by the booster capture in yesterday’s launch – has been a central feature of SpaceX’s design, allowing for lower costs on rocket parts.
