SpaceX’s fifth Starship launch makes history with first successful Super Heavy booster catch

On October 13, 2024, SpaceX successfully launched its fifth Starship mission, “Flight 5,” from its Starbase facility in Texas. For the first time, the company successfully “caught” its Super Heavy booster, Booster 12, using two mechanical arms—dubbed “chopsticks”—attached to the launch tower. This manoeuvre, executed just seven minutes after liftoff, represents a critical milestone in SpaceX’s goal of rapidly reusing the booster for future launches.

The Starship vehicle, Ship 30, flew a suborbital mission, reaching an altitude of 212 kilometres before splashing down in the Indian Ocean. This success moves SpaceX closer to its vision of rapid booster reuse, potentially enabling turnaround times of days or even hours between launches.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted a revised launch licence less than 24 hours before the mission, following a thorough environmental assessment. This assessment concluded that there would be no significant environmental impact, allowing SpaceX to conduct another mission, “Flight 6,” under the same launch profile.