For the first time ever, SpaceX has brought back a Starship Super Heavy booster for an on-target catch in the arms of its launch-pad cradle
For the first time ever, SpaceX has followed through on a Starship test launch by bringing back the Super Heavy booster for an on-target catch in the arms of its “Mechazilla” launch-tower cradle in Texas.Today’s successful catch marks a giant step toward using — and reusing — Starship for missions ranging from satellite deployments to NASA’s moon missions to migrations to Mars.
Super Heavy is not designed to set down on landing legs, as is the case for SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. Perfecting the Mechazilla catch is an essential part of SpaceX’s strategy for rapid rocket reusability. Today’s test of Starship, which is the world’s most powerful rocket, proceeded according to plan from launch to splashdown. All 33 of the booster’s methane-fueled Raptor engines fired up for launch, and 13 of the Raptors powered the Super Heavy’s return to the pad.
Minutes later, the rocket’s video stream showed Ship making a vertical dive into the water, and then a different stream from a nearby buoy showed Ship blazing as it floated on the surface.SpaceX founder Elon Musk hailed the results in a: “Ship landed precisely on target!” he wrote. “Second of the two objectives achieved.”
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