SpaceX catches Super Heavy rocket: why does it matter?
SpaceX launched a rocket early on Sunday morning and made a historic move by catching the huge first-stage booster, known as Super Heavy.
Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX launched a rocket early on Sunday morning and made a historic move by catching the huge first-stage booster, known as Super Heavy.
Starship is a two-stage heavy-lift rocket launch machine under development by SpaceX. First introduced by Musk in 2017, Starship experienced multiple explosions during various testing phases but successfully completed its first full flight in June.
During its fifth test flight on Sunday, the Starship returned the booster to its launch pad using giant mechanical arms. The arms were fitted at the top of an over 400-foot tower – which Musk refers to as “Mechazilla” – at SpaceX's Boca Chica site in the South of Texas.
Thousands of distinct vehicle and pad criteria had to be met prior to catching the Super Heavy booster. Thanks to the tireless work of SpaceX engineers, we succeeded with catch on our first attempt. pic.twitter.com/6wa5v6xHI0
undefined SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 13, 2024
The booster launched the Starship's second-stage rocket into space before detaching at an altitude of around 70 km (40 miles) to start its descent – the most risky part of the test flight.
The Super Heavy booster reignited three of its 33 Raptor engines to slow its descent toward the launch site, aiming for the same pad and tower it had lifted off from. With its engines roaring, the 233-foot (71-meter) booster settled into the tower’s catching arms, securing itself with small bars beneath the four grid fins that had guided its flight through the air.
"The tower has caught the rocket!!" CEO Elon Musk wrote on X after the successful catch.
The tower has caught the rocket!!
undefined Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 13, 2024
pic.twitter.com/CPXsHJBdUh
"This is a day for the engineering history books," Kate Tice, SpaceX manager of Quality Systems Engineering, said during live commentary. "This is absolutely insane! On the first-ever attempt, we have successfully caught the Super Heavy booster back at the launch tower."
"Are you kidding me?" SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot added from the launch site. "Even in this day and age, what we just saw – that looked like magic."
undefined Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2024
While fully reusable rockets are not yet on the market and require huge investments, they could cut the costs of rocket launches in the long run.
Why does this current launch and return mark a historic achievement for SpaceX? Mainly because the company has been pushing to build a reusable rocket design that can lift up more cargo into orbit and carry more humans to space, eventually accommodating missions to Mars.
NASA, through a nearly $4 billion contract with SpaceX, plans to use Starship in the coming years to send the first human crew to the moon’s surface since the Apollo missions over half a century ago.