On October 13, 2024, SpaceX reached an extraordinary milestone when its Starship rocket successfully completed its boldest test flight yet, with the returning booster caught mid-air by the towering launch pad. Elon Musk, SpaceX’s CEO, enthusiastically declared it “science fiction without the fiction part.”
Watch the Boost Caught by the Tower [pic.twitter.com/aOQmSkt6YE]
Towering almost 400 feet (121 meters), the Starship launched from Texas at sunrise. After arcing over the Gulf of Mexico, the first-stage booster returned just seven minutes later. For the first time, SpaceX used its colossal tower arms, called chopsticks, to snatch the 232-foot (71-meter) booster mid-air, a feat that had engineers celebrating across SpaceX.
A Leap Towards Moon and Mars Missions
The successful landing sets the stage for Musk’s long-term vision: using Starship to carry astronauts back to the moon and eventually Mars. NASA has already signed on for two Starship missions to land astronauts at the moon’s south pole, a part of their Artemis program.
SpaceX’s engineering manager, Kate Tice, was ecstatic: “Folks, this is a day for the engineering history books.” The booster’s capture is a crucial development in Musk’s goal of creating fully reusable rockets, just like SpaceX’s smaller Falcon 9.
What’s Next for SpaceX?
Following this breakthrough, Starship’s spacecraft continued on its orbit, soaring over 130 miles (212 kilometers) high. It completed a controlled landing in the Indian Ocean, capping a day of historic achievements for the space exploration giant.
SpaceX will continue refining Starship’s technology, aiming for even more successful test flights as it prepares for manned missions to other worlds.
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