SpaceX’s Starship test completes with surprising ‘chopstick’ booster catch

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft crashed into the Indian Ocean just over an hour after launch at 8:25 a.m. ET from South Texas. Nearly seven minutes after liftoff, the Super Heavy booster returned to the launch pad. Got it It uses arms that SpaceX has nicknamed “chopsticks.”

The notable catch was a first for SpaceX and an important step toward making the Super Heavy booster a fully reusable launch system, much like SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The booster completed a series of maneuvers similar to today’s during a previous flight test last June, but instead crashed in the Gulf of Mexico.

Today’s flight test, delayed 25 minutes while SpaceX waits for the boat to be removed from the launch range, marks the second complete spacecraft launch, flight and return to Earth. The spacecraft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere about 45 minutes after liftoff and made a “gentle” splash in the Indian Ocean at 9:30 a.m. ET. Immediately afterwards an explosion rocked the spacecraft.

SpaceX redesigned Starship’s heat shield for this test after the ship lost a piece of its shielding during reentry in June. The company used new heat shield tiles and added an additional back-up flux layer. Arstechnica explanation last week.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved SpaceX’s test flights. only yesterday. The launch was originally expected to be completed next month, but the FAA and partner agencies have reportedly conducted an assessment of SpaceX’s readiness. sooner than expected.

Updated October 13: Updated to reflect that the spacecraft crashed in the Indian Ocean.