Starship Test 5: Mechazilla arms catch Booster

For its fifth flight test, Starship, consisting of the Super Heavy booster (Booster 12) – powered by 33 Raptor engines – and the Starship spacecraft (Ship 30), lifts off from Boca Chica, Texas. At 2m 40s the Super Heavy booster separates from the Starship spacecraft (Ship 30) using hot-staging. Post-separation, the Super Heavy ascends to 69 km (43 miles) and then executes a boostback burn to reverse its course and return towards the launch site, where it slides horizontally into the Mechazilla launch tower’s 30m “chopstick” arms, completing the first successful Heavy Booster catch.

Meanwhile, Starship continues its suborbital trajectory, reaching an apogee of about 212 km (132 miles) over the Indian Ocean. Despite damage to one of its control flaps, Starship maintains stability using its flaps through re-entry to splashdown in the Indian Ocean, approximately 7,000 km (4,350 miles) from separation. Musk:

Even rockets need hugs 

Even rockets need hugs 🥰 pic.twitter.com/oF36F0AvBf

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2024