SpaceX successfully catches Flight 5 Starship Super Heavy rocket booster on landing (videos)

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Video of the Flight 5 Super Heavy rocket booster landing catch by Mechazilla Chopsticks. Credit: SpaceX.

At T+ 6 minutes and 30 seconds into the flight, Flight 5 Starship Super Heavy rocket booster re-ignited its engines as it prepared to land. But it’s a landing that no one had tried before — ever — catching a 71 m stainless steel structure with a mass of more than 250 tons.

SpaceX has made history once again. The Flight 5 Super Heavy Booster 12 rocket was safely and soundly caught by the Mechazilla (launch tower) Chopsticks on landing. The catch was made around T+ 6:49 seconds.

This is a historic moment in spaceflight history as I mentioned above, no government or private space agency has ever tried it before. Interestingly, SpaceX did it in the first attempt. The world was not expecting this outcome until the last moments.

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Flight 5 Starship Super Heavy rocket booster as it is caught by the orbital launch tower Mechazilla Chopsticks at Starbase on Sunday 13th October 2024.
Flight 5 Starship Super Heavy rocket booster as it is caught by the orbital launch tower Mechazilla Chopsticks at Starbase on Sunday 13th October 2024 (videos below). Credit: NasaSpaceFlight.com.

The live stream of the Starship Flight 5 launch is still underway as of this writing. The 2nd stage Starship (Ship 30) spacecraft is still cruising in space and SpaceX aims to land it in the Indian Ocean like the Flight 4 launch test.

The great thing about the landing catch was that the Super Heavy booster was perfectly caught by the Chopsticks. The pins installed on the forward section perfectly aligned and anchored with the Chopstick connecting points on both the left and right arms. The booster didn’t hang on the grid fins.

The Raptor engines are getting cooled down with the chilled liquid gases (liquid oxygen and methane) as they endured the atmospheric entry and landing burn.

SpaceX has achieved a major milestone in large spacecraft and rocket booster reusability. The successful catch has saved the majority of the Super Heavy booster and we will surely see it back on the launch pad in the near future.

Flight 6 Starship is already prepared to perform a test, it’s just a matter of time before SpaceX obtains regulatory approval for the next launch. Flight 6 if happens before Christmas, will be the 4th Starship flight launch test in 2024 and the 2nd landing test.

Alternative view of the Flight 5 Super Heavy rocket booster around a minute after being caught by the Mechazilla Chopsticks.
An alternative view of the Flight 5 Super Heavy rocket booster around a minute after being caught by the Mechazilla Chopsticks. Credit: NasaSpaceFlight.com (video below).
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Footage of the Starship Flight 5 liftoff from Starbase and landing catch of the Super Heavy rocket booster by Mechazilla Chopsticks. Credit: SpaceX via @GuyMobility / X (Twitter).
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Video: Live stream of Starship Flight 5 test by NasaSpaceFlight. Reverse the live stream to watch the landing catch moment. SpaceX official footage can be watched above.
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Related Starship News

Iqtidar Ali
Iqtidar Alihttp://www.teslaoracle.com
Author of more than 1500 articles on Tesla, SpaceX, and EVs. His work has been liked and tweeted by Elon Musk and other prominent influencers. You can reach him on Twitter @IqtidarAlii

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