SpaceX Starship launch: mechanical arms capture Super Heavy rocket

BOCA CHICA, Texas – The most daring test flight of SpaceX’s Starship rocket ended Sunday with a set of mechanical arms catching the return booster on the launch pad.

Nicknamed “chopsticks,” the monstrous arms were attached to the launch tower in Boca Chica, Texas, and picked up the 232-foot ‘Super Heavy’ booster in an engineering breakthrough.

“This is a day for the engineering history books,” said Kate Tice, quality systems engineering manager at SpaceX, in a live stream of the event. “This is absolutely insane! On the first try, we successfully grabbed the Super Heavy booster from the launch tower.”

Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, with 33 methane-powered engines in the booster alone.

Starship’s Super Heavy Booster clings to the launch pad at Starbase near Boca Chica, Texas, on October 13, 2024, during testing of Starship Flight 5. (Photo by SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images)

NASA has ordered two Starships to land astronauts on the Moon later this decade. SpaceX intends to use Starship to send people and supplies to the Moon and, eventually, Mars.

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Nearly 400 feet tall, the empty craft took off at sunrise in far southern Texas, near the Mexican border. It arced over the Gulf of Mexico like the four previous ships, which ended up being destroyed, either shortly after takeoff or while diving into the sea. The last one, in June, was the most successful so far, completing the flight without exploding.

This time, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk increased the challenge and risk by bringing the rocket booster back to the launch pad – recycling boosters could speed up launch rates and save Space X millions.

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“The tower caught the rocket!!” Musk posted on X. “Science fiction without the fiction part.”

Company employees screamed with joy Sunday, jumping and pumping their fists into the air as the booster slowly descended into the arms of the launch tower.

“Even in this day and age, what we just saw is magical,” noted SpaceX’s Dan Huot near the launch site. “I’m shaking right now.”

An hour later, the empty Starship rocket made a controlled landing in the Indian Ocean as planned, adding to the day’s success.

“What a day,” said Huot. “Let’s get ready for the next one.”