On the 13th, SpaceX, Elon Musk's space company, successfully completed its fifth orbital test flight of the large Starship spacecraft, developed for moon and Mars exploration, achieving significant milestones. Notably, they successfully recovered the massive booster rocket using the launch tower’s ‘chopsticks arm,’ a first-time attempt, marking a major milestone in the development of Starship.

The Starship was launched at 7:25 AM (Central Time) from the Starbase space launch facility at Boca Chica Beach in southern Texas. SpaceX broadcasted the event live online. Approximately three minutes after launch, the first stage of the two-stage rocket, the Super Heavy booster, smoothly separated from the upper-stage Starship spacecraft. About seven minutes into the flight, the Super Heavy booster successfully returned to Earth and achieved its first-ever vertical landing.

For the Super Heavy's landing, an innovative technique was attempted for the first time, using the ‘chopsticks arm’ of the launch tower to catch the booster mid-air, just above the ground, and the technique was immediately successful on the first try, demonstrating the technology's prowess. As the Super Heavy approached the ground, it performed a rapid deceleration by firing its engines in reverse thrust. The two large parallel robotic arms, resembling chopsticks, then caught the massive booster and securely placed it back on the launch pad. This success marks a realization of SpaceX’s long-term goal to recycle the Super Heavy booster. SpaceX plans to further develop the technology to recover and reuse the second-stage spacecraft as well.

These chopstick-like robotic arms are also nicknamed “Mechazilla,” inspired by the monster Godzilla from movies. SpaceX previously explained that their engineers spent years preparing and months testing the booster-catching system. When the Super Heavy booster successfully landed as planned, SpaceX engineers erupted in applause and cheers. Meanwhile, as the Super Heavy separated and landed, the second-stage Starship spacecraft also completed its planned 75-minute flight. The Starship spacecraft reached an altitude of 210 km and traveled along its designated orbital path at around 26,225 km/h. After about 40 minutes of flight, it re-entered Earth's atmosphere and splashed down in the ocean, completing the flight without any explosions. This was an uncrewed test flight with no astronauts or cargo on board.

Musk has developed the Starship with the goal of colonizing Mars to make human settlement possible. The spacecraft is also slated for use in NASA’s Artemis project, specifically for the third stage of the mission, aimed at returning humans to the moon for the first time in half a century. The Starship is 50 meters long and 9 meters in diameter, capable of carrying up to 150 tons of cargo. When combined with the Super Heavy rocket, which is 71 meters long, the entire launch system reaches a total height of 121 meters, making it the largest rocket ever built.