Perfect Landing for
Starship's Booster Rocket

SpaceX achieved a historic milestone in its Starship program by successfully catching the Super Heavy rocket booster on its first attempt, following a controlled vertical landing maneuver. The rocket booster was caught in mid-air by the launch tower’s arms at SpaceX’s Starbase in South Texas.

The landing test was part of the fifth test flight of the Starship system, which comprises the massive SpaceX Starship spacecraft, sometimes informally referred to as "the Ship," and the enormous Super Heavy booster rocket. The launch proceeded as planned, with all 33 Raptor engines on the booster functioning properly. The separation phase of the spacecraft from the rocket also went smoothly. While the spacecraft continued its journey powered by six engines in preparation for a landing attempt over the Indian Ocean, most of the attention was focused this time on the ambitious plan to land the booster rocket in a controlled manner back at the launch site. The most challenging aspect was the rocket's capture by the launch tower’s metal arms, known as "Chopsticks" or "Mechazilla".

After separating from the spacecraft at an altitude of around 70 kilometers, less than three minutes after launch, the rocket continued to ascend to about 96 kilometers, performing course corrections to bring it back toward the launch site. From there, it began a free fall, reaching supersonic speeds of over 2,000 kilometers per hour. Only in the final few hundred meters before impact did the rocket reignite its engines, stabilize into a vertical position, and hover near the launch tower, where the arms latched onto it and caught it mid-air, precisely as planned, approximately seven minutes after launch.

Why use the tower arms for landing instead of landing directly on the ground, as SpaceX has successfully done hundreds of times with its Falcon 9 rockets, the company's main workhorse? The new landing method aims to ensure a softer landing by utilizing the tower’s elevator, reducing the risk of mechanical damage from a hard touchdown. This approach further lowers the cost of refurbishing the rockets and preparing them for reuse in subsequent launches, bringing SpaceX closer to its vision of a reliable, reusable launch system at a relatively low cost.

Gradual Progress

The spacecraft followed a flight path similar to its previous two tests. The re-entry into the atmosphere went smoothly, and it successfully executed the landing maneuver over the Indian Ocean before plunging into the sea as planned. After earlier tests encountered issues with the spacecraft's heat shields and stabilization fins, which burned in the intense heat, SpaceX introduced improvements to the spacecraft’s body shell, heat shields, and fin structure. This time, nothing ignited during re-entry. The spacecraft decelerated as planned near the target site, hovered briefly, and then fell into the water. The contact with the water surface was accompanied by a brief ignition, but shortly afterward, the spacecraft was seen floating on the surface.

As mentioned, this launch constituted the fifth test flight of the Starship system,with SpaceX showing impressive progress from one test to the next. In the first test, about a year and a half ago, the separation of the spacecraft from the booster rocket failed, with both exploding in mid-air. During the second test, in November 2023, the spacecraft reached space but exploded there, and the booster rocket exploded while attempting a landing maneuver over the water. In the third test, in March 2024, the spacecraft burned and exploded during re-entry into the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, and the booster rocket partially performed its landing maneuver over the sea but failed to complete it. In the fourth test, in June 2024, tthe spacecraft successfully re-entered the atmosphere and performed the landing maneuver over the Indian Ocean, despite damage to its fins. The booster rocket also completed its landing maneuver, successfully touching down over the Gulf of Mexico, not far from the launch site.

This time, SpaceX delivered on Elon Musk's promise to perform the capture maneuver with the booster rocket during the fifth test flight. Musk, the company's founder and CEO, had previously stated that the company might attempt to land the spacecraft itself at the launch site after completing two controlled water landings. This maneuver would be significantly more complex, as SpaceX has not yet placed the "Ship" into orbit around Earth. So far, the spacecraft was only launched on a trajectory reaching an altitude of around 250 kilometers, with the fall concluding with a free fall. For the spacecraft to land in Texas after completing one or more orbits around Earth, it would need to fire its engines in space at least twice: once to enter Earth's orbit and again to decelerate enough for re-entry into the atrmosphere. This complex maneuver, which would involve flying over populated areas in the southern United States during the return to Texas, would naturally require approval from U.S. regulatory authorities, particularly the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Musk has recently engaged in a heated debate with the FAA, accusing it of delaying approvals for the Starship test flight.

A Step Toward Tomorrow

The successful test marks another milestone  on SpaceX's path toward its long-term goal of developing a reliable, reusable launch system capable of sending large and heavy payloads into space. This system will allow SpaceX to significantly reduce launch costs,  from thousands of dollars per kilogram or cargo to as little as $200 or even $100.  Starship is set to play a key role in NASA’s Artemis program, serving as the lunar lander for the first manned missions to the Moon. It will also allow SpaceX to further expand its Starlink communications satellite network, which is already capturing an increasing share of the market. The network played a crucial role in maintaining continuous communication with the spacecraft throughout the mission. This robust launch system is poised to grant SpaceX near-complete dominance in the heavy payload launch market, including the deployment of space stations, large communication satellites, space telescopes, and more, thereby enabling the construction of larger and more advanced space structures than ever before.

If the Starship program proceeds as planned, SpaceX is likely to become a leading space power, with capabilities that rival even those of most nations. However, Elon Musk’s most distant and ambitious goal is not merely to secure a prominent place in Earth's orbit, but to use Starship to establish and develop a manned colony on Mars. To achieve this, SpaceX is already planning even larger and more advanced models of Starship. Even for less ambitious missions, such as lunar flights, SpaceX still needs to develop several critical capabilities, including spacecraft maneuvers in space, docking, and in-space refueling—transferring fuel in a zero-gravity environment. Each of these must function flawlessly, even for simpler missions than colonizing Mars. Nonetheless, SpaceX continues to demonstrate its fearlessness in tackling challenges and, most importantly, its ability to learn and make significant improvements with each test.