Watch SpaceX Catch Its Super Heavy Rocket Like Something Out Of Sci-Fi

SpaceX completed its fifth test flight of its Starship spacecraft and its Super Heavy booster rocket today. Among the objectives for the test flight was the return and catch of the Super Heavy booster by the launch and catch infrastructure at SpaceX Starbase in Texas, known as Mechzilla.

Elon Musk made a bold claim recently, which involved SpaceX planning to launch around 5 uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years. He added that if all uncrewed missions were successful, crewed missions could be possible in four years’ time. However, at that time, the space company still had certain obstacles to overcome in order to make Musk’s dream come true. One of those was ensuring the ability of the mammoth infrastructure called Mechzilla being able to successfully catch a returning Super Heavy booster rocket. As of today, that goal has been achieved, and it looked like something right out of a sci-fi flick.

SpaceX remarked before the test flight that extensive upgrades had been made to hardware and software across the Super Heavy, Starship, and the launch and catch tower infrastructure, Mechzilla, at Starbase. The company noted, “SpaceX engineers have spent years preparing and months testing for the booster catch attempt, with technicians pouring tens of thousands of hours into building the infrastructure to maximize our chances for success.” It added, “We accept no compromises when it comes to ensuring the safety of the public and our team, and the return will only be attempted if conditions are right.”

SpaceX remarked ahead of the test flight that thousands of distinct vehicle and pad criteria had to be met prior to the return and catch attempt of the Super Heavy booster. Once all requirements were met, a manual command from the mission’s flight director was sent, telling the Super Heavy to return to the catch tower. The returning booster then began its descent, slowing down from supersonic speeds, resulting in audible sonic booms in the area around the landing zone.

Well, the conditions were right today, and the team achieved a huge milestone in the journey of seeing Starship being sent to Mars in the future. Musk posted on X, “Big step towards making life multiplanetary was made today.” In another post, the billionaire entrepreneur noted the other success of today’s test flight, remarking, “Ship [Starship] landed precisely on target! Second of the two objectives achieved.”

The space company was not the only one to post videos of the successful catch of the Super Heavy. Excited and impressed onlookers quickly began uploading their own footage to X, expressing their own excitement about the incredible achievement, such as Kimbal Musk’s post seen above.

Regardless of how anyone feels about Musk personally, the successful catch of a Super Heavy booster rocket today was simply astonishing, and a testament to what can be done when people dream big.