SpaceX Starship booster caught in historic feat

This monumental feat was achieved using the giant mechanical arms dubbed “chopsticks” on the “Mechazilla” launch tower which ‘caught’ the booster as it came in on approach. Once again SpaceX has pushed the boundaries of engineering in its unrelenting push to build a reusable Moon and Mars-capable rocket. This is quite a ways from the spectacular end to its very first test over a year ago.

The mission

The rocket achieved lift-off at 7:25am CT (12:25pm GMT) from SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas launch facility. At t+1:02 the rocket reached Max q during its ascent, with the Super Heavy booster (B12) continuing to propel the Starship until it reached its most engines cutoff (MECO) point at t+2:40.

Starship would then ignite its own engines and, just a few seconds later at t+2:45, would begin stage separation from B12 at an altitude of roughly 70km (40mi). B12 could now begin its risky return to land.

After hurtling its way back down to the ground, the B12 booster would ignite 13 of its 33 monster Raptor engines to begin its landing burn at t+6:30, slowing itself for its “Mechazilla” catch approach. The Raptor engines would then be cut down to just the central three as it made its final approach adjustments. Just 24 seconds after its initial landing burn, 233ft (71m) tall B12 booster would find itself clamped in the over “Chopsticks” of the over 400ft “Mechazilla” and turn its Raptor engines off for the final time at t+6:54.

In the meantime, the upper-stage Starship spacecraft reached a maximum apogee of 212km (132mi) before beginning its controlled landing into the Indian Ocean. Starship would begin entry at t+48:03 before reaching Max q during descent at t+1:00:50.

As Starship re-entered the atmosphere, superhot plasma could be seen layering the ship’s exterior, a result of intense friction – something that the spacecraft struggled with in previous missions.

The hot side of the spacecraft was covered with 18,000 heat-resistant tiles, upgraded since SpaceX's previous test in June, during which Starship conducted its first full flight to the Indian Ocean but experienced damage to the tiles, complicating re-entry. Starship, however, seemed much more intact as it reignited one of its six Raptor engines to orient itself upright at t+1:05:15 for the simulated ocean landing.

Starship would make splash down on the Australian coast at t+1:05:40, before finally toppling over as planned. Just seconds later the craft would then explode into a large fireball, it is however, unclear if this part was intentional or not. Regardless the mission has been viewed as an overwhelming success, achieving all the goals it set out to hit.

Commenting on the mission success Bill Nelson, Administrator of NASA, said: "Congratulations to SpaceX on its successful booster catch and fifth Starship flight test today!"

What the mission success means

With the successful fifth test of Starship and Super Heavy, SpaceX can now move forward with plans and begin the fine-tuning processes to ensure reliability in future tests. Once fully operational, Starship aims to accomplish several key objectives that could shift the space industry as a whole.

One of its primary goals is the facilitation of space travel to Mars, aligning with SpaceX's long-term vision of establishing a human presence on the planet. Starship is designed to be fully reusable, lowering the cost of space travel considerably. This reusability alongside the large payload capabilities of Starship could make interplanetary travel feasible for not just astronauts, but eventually civilians, enabling the colonisation of Mars, which SpaceX Founder Elon Musk has cited as a necessary step for humanity’s survival in the event of Earth-bound catastrophes.

Another critical aspect of the Starship mission is its ability to support large-scale cargo missions, including the construction of infrastructure on the Moon and Mars. NASA has partnered with SpaceX for its Artemis programme, which seeks to return humans to the Moon by 2025. Starship is expected to serve as a key vehicle for transporting both astronauts and essential equipment for lunar exploration and habitation. In this regard, Starship would be the older brother to the popular and widely successful Falcon 9 which has seen some rockets reused upwards of 20 times!

Starship is also expected to enhance commercial space activities, with the ability to deploy large constellations of satellites in a single trip. This could improve global communications networks and expand Internet access in remote areas. Additionally, the spacecraft is planned to support space tourism, a growing industry that could open up space experiences to more individuals.

When is the next Starship test flight?

Now that SpaceX has managed to catch the first-stage B12 booster, the focus now shifts to catching the 165ft (50m) tall Starship itself. Company Founder and CEO Elon Musk too to X to say: “Hopefully early next year, we will catch the ship too.”

SpaceX is expecting to perform flight test 6 in 2025, however, this estimate has not been confirmed specifically by SpaceX for certain. The timeline of the launch will be determined by the mission profile and the readiness of the vehicles. Ship 31, currently undergoing a full heatshield replacement like Ship 30 before Flight 5, will be a key factor in this.

The good news for SpaceX and those following Starship’s progress is that approval is essentially pre-completed. SpaceX requested a launch licence modification for the flight profile of Flight Test 6, alongside Flight Test 5. The licence covering both profiles was issued on 12th October 2024.

This means SpaceX has been granted approval for Flight 6 and can proceed with the launch whenever they choose.