Instead of landing the rocket booster on floating platforms in the ocean, SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, recovered it straight on the launch pad.
SpaceX, controlled by Elon Musk, accomplished a remarkable achievement on Sunday when it used the mechanical arms of its launch pad to successfully intercept the returning booster back of its Starship rocket.
For the first time, the business has recovered the rocket booster directly from its launch pad as opposed to placing it on platforms that float in the ocean. For nearly nine years, SpaceX has been retrieving the first-stage boosters of its smaller Falcon 9 rockets in this way.
Musk posted the breathtaking footage from that very time on his social media platform, X. Seven minutes after launch, the Starship rocket’s mechanical arms safely captured the rocket’s returning booster. The imposing metal arms of the launch tower, called chopsticks, were designed to catch the 232-foot (71-meter) launcher as it descended.
The company’s engineers were overjoyed at their accomplishment. “What we just witnessed is extraordinary, even in this day and age. Dan Huot of SpaceX, who watched the landing from close to the launch site, remarked, “I’m shaking right now.”
Kate Tice of SpaceX said, “People, this is a day for the engineering history books,” from the company’s Hawthorne, California headquarters.
Enthusiasts for space travel and a safe return to Earth have been sparked by the first successful recovery on the launch pad itself.
Anand Mahindra from India expressed his joy in a post on X. And if that means I get to see history being created this Sunday, I’m content to stay home and watch TV. This experiment could be the turning point that made space travel commonplace and accessible to all. “@elonmusk, where can I get my ticket?,” he wrote.
During the sixth Starship rocket test flight, SpaceX accomplished this accomplishment. The company’s most recent development in its quest to create a fully reusable rocket that can carry more cargo into space orbit is this “catch-landing” technique. Musk also plans to use reusable launch vehicles to carry people to the moon and eventually Mars.
