SpaceX Successfully Lands Starship Booster

During the fifth test flight, SpaceX successfully landed the booster of its Starship. The first-phase booster landed back on its Texas launch pad for the first time.

The rocket's first-stage booster sent the Starship second-stage rocket toward space before separating at an altitude of 70 km. It then began its return to land, the most difficult part of the test flight. The booster then re-lit three of its 33 engines to slow its descent back to the launch site.

The segment targeted the launch pad and tower from which it had blasted off. The tower was fitted with two large metal arms at the top. The 71-meter-tall booster gently slipped into the launch tower's arms, hooking itself in place.

"The tower has caught the rocket!!" SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on X after the catch attempt. The catch-landing method marks the latest advance in SpaceX's development campaign for a fully reusable rocket. Meanwhile, Starship, the second stage of the rocket, cruised for about 90 minutes and finished its flight with a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.