Theunis Jansen van Rensburg·
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Watch SpaceX catch its huge Starship booster rocket mid-air

In its fifth Starship test flight, SpaceX achieved a major engineering breakthrough by returning the rocket’s massive first-stage booster to its Texas launch pad using giant mechanical arms. This marks another milestone in the company’s quest to create a fully reusable vehicle for missions to the Moon and Mars.

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The test flight began at 2:25 PM SAST from SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas facility. The Super Heavy booster, standing 71 meters tall, powered the Starship second-stage rocket toward space. After separating at an altitude of roughly 70 kilometres, the booster began its daring return to Earth.

Three of the booster’s 33 Raptor engines reignited to slow its descent back to the launch site. The booster then targeted the launch pad and tower, which stands over 120 meters tall and is equipped with two large metal arms for catching the rocket. As the Super Heavy approached, it used forward grid fins to guide itself through the air, before latching onto the tower’s arms using small bars under the fins.

“The tower has caught the rocket!” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced on X, as engineers celebrated the achievement.

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Meanwhile, the Starship second stage continued into space, reaching speeds of 27,000 km/h at an altitude of 143 km. It was headed for the Indian Ocean near western Australia for a controlled splashdown about 90 minutes after launch. The ship’s heat-shielding tiles, improved since a previous test, held up better during re-entry as Starship glowed under the intense heat of atmospheric re-entry.

As the rocket re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, it reignited one of its six Raptor engines to position itself for a simulated ocean landing. It touched down in the Indian Ocean before toppling over, concluding the test mission.

Shortly after touchdown, the rocket exploded, though it was unclear whether this was a controlled detonation. Musk confirmed the ship landed “precisely on target!”