SpaceX Achieves Historic Booster Catch During Starship Test

Company successfully catches its Super Heavy booster using a pair of metal ‘chopsticks,’ marking the first time such a maneuver has been completed.

Monday, October 14, 2024 at 03:12 PM ET

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SpaceX caught its Super Heavy booster in midair using a pair of metal ‘chopstick’ arms, the first time such a maneuver has been successfully completed. [Courtesy: SpaceX]

Key Takeaways:

SpaceX's Starship program achieved a significant milestone in its fifth test flight by successfully catching the Super Heavy booster mid-air with "Mechazilla" arms, a critical step towards full reusability.
Starship is being developed as the largest and most powerful rocket for human space travel to the Moon (under NASA's Artemis III contract) and Mars, necessitating rapid reusability and hundreds of launches.
The program faces ongoing regulatory scrutiny from the FAA, including delays in launch licensing for modified missions and proposed fines, which SpaceX claims impede its progress.
Key future objectives include validating orbital flight, demonstrating in-orbit propellant transfer for lunar missions, and increasing launch cadence through additional pads to meet ambitious space exploration timelines.

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SpaceX’s Starship program—responsible for developing the largest and most powerful rocket ever flown—continues to make history.

On Sunday, Starship and the Super Heavy booster lifted off around 8:25 a.m. EDT from SpaceX’s Starbase launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas, on the rocket’s fifth suborbital test flight. But rather than splash down in the Gulf of Mexico, as it did on the previous flight, Super Heavy was caught in midair by a pair of metal “chopstick” arms the company refers to as “Mechazilla.”

Jack Daleo

Jack is a staff writer covering advanced air mobility, including everything from drones to unmanned aircraft systems to space travel—and a whole lot more. He spent close to two years reporting on drone delivery for FreightWaves, covering the biggest news and developments in the space and connecting with industry executives and experts. Jack is also a basketball aficionado, a frequent traveler and a lover of all things logistics.