SpaceX Successfully Captures Returning Starship Booster With 'Mechazilla' Arms

The SpaceX Starship test flight this Sunday achieved a world first: using the launch tower’s “chopstick” arms – called “Mechazilla” by SpaceX founder Elon Musk – to catch the first stage booster returning after a flight test. This innovative maneuver is an important milestone in SpaceX’s effort toward rapid rocket reuse.

SpaceX successfully “captured” the first stage booster of its Starship megarocket on Sunday as it returned to the launch pad after a test flight, a world first in the company’s quest for rapid reusability.

The “super-heavy booster” had lifted off attached to the Starship rocket minutes earlier, then made a perfect controlled return to the same platform in Texas, where a pair of huge mechanical “chopsticks” extended from the launch tower to bring the booster slowly descending to a stop. , according to a live broadcast from Elon Musk’s company SpaceX.

“Guys, this is a day for the engineering history books,” a SpaceX spokesperson said in a voiceover on the company’s live stream, after the booster was safely within reach of the tower and company employees blew up. in applause.

“The tower caught the rocket!!” SpaceX founder Musk posted on X.

Takeoff took place at 7:25 am (12:25 GMT) in clear weather. As the booster returned to the launch pad, the Starship’s upper stage was expected to splash down into the Indian Ocean within the hour.

Teams were monitoring to ensure “thousands” of criteria were met on both the vehicle and the turret before any attempt was made to return the Super Heavy booster.

(AFP)