SpaceX Pulls Off Historic Rocket Booster Catch
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SpaceX has achieved yet another groundbreaking milestone. On October 13, 2024, the aerospace company successfully flew the 233-foot (71 m) Starship rocket booster back to its launch site and caught it mid-air with two mechanical arms. Previously, SpaceX boosters landed on a floating platform or landing pad and required transportation back to the launch site.
The Starship vehicle comprises the "Super Heavy" booster and the Starship spacecraft. It launched from Boca Chica, Texas, at 7:25 am CT. The booster separated after transporting the crewless spacecraft to the densest part of Earth's atmosphere. It then ignited a few of its 33 engines to return to the launch site. Here, it was successfully caught by the monstrous metal arms referred to as "chopsticks" attached to the same launch tower from which it had lifted off.
"This is a day for the engineering history books," said Kate Tice, SpaceX manager of Quality Systems Engineering. "This is absolutely insane! On the first-ever attempt, we have successfully caught the Super Heavy booster back at the launch tower."
Meanwhile, the Starship spacecraft continued its journey into space for another 45 minutes, reaching a peak altitude of 131 miles (212 km), before returning. It made a flawless landing in the Indian Ocean at 8:30 am CT, successfully completing its fifth test flight.
“Ship landed precisely on target! Second of two objectives achieved,” said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
The successful test flight brings SpaceX one step closer to realizing its goal to transport humans to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Standing 397 feet (121 m) tall, the Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever developed. The fully reusable spacecraft, designed to carry both crew and cargo, aims to significantly reduce the cost of space travel. This will make deep space missions more feasible and may even pave the way for humans to live on multiple planets.
Resources: BBCnews.com, PBS.org, NPR.com, CNN.com
