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In a major breakthrough, SpaceX declared the rocket reusability a notch higher after announcing that its Super Heavy booster was recovered successfully on its fifth test flight of the Starship rocket. The booster was caught up by mechanical arms attached to the launch pad, dubbed “chopsticks,” less than seven minutes after liftoff from Boca Chica, Texas, on Sunday.
It marked the first time SpaceX had retrieved a booster directly on its launch pad. That is a change from previous missions where ocean platforms were used for landing. The innovation marks something quite key in the pursuit of SpaceX toward less turnaround time between launching rockets.
At least one the chief at SpaceX, Elon Musk, took to social media to highly commend the milestone: “Just inspected the Starship booster, which the arms have now placed back in its launch mount. Looks great!” he said. Some minor heat-related warping on the outer engine nozzles notwithstanding, these can easily be fixed and do not weaken the rocket as such, Musk said.
But that aside, what gives this milestone added meaning is Musk’s declaration that the Super Heavy may actually be reused within an hour of returning. This rapid turnaround is part of the larger vision that SpaceX has for fast and enabling reusable rockets that could change the course of space travel history by slashing costs dramatically and multiplying its frequency of launches.
A successful catch and recovery of the Super Heavy booster brings SpaceX one step closer toward enabling humanity to have a multi-planetary species, starting with missions to the Moon and Mars.
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