What happened in the latest SpaceX Starship test and what does it mean?

SpaceX's Starship lifts off during its fifth flight test, in Boca Chica, Texas, U.S., October 13, 2024.  REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Beal
SpaceX's Starship carried out its fifth test flight on Sunday. (Reuters)

Elon Musk’s Starship rocket completed a world first after part of it returned to earth and was caught by giant robotic arms.

The rocket's first stage booster was returned to its launch pad during the fifth test flight on Sunday, taking the programme one step closer in its quest to building a reusable spacecraft.

The rocket's first stage 'Super Heavy' booster lifted off from SpaceX's launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas, on Sunday morning, then separated at an altitude of around 40 miles, with the booster returning to land and the second stage rocket heading towards space.

The booster then descended back to the launch site, where two large metal arms fitted to the tower it took off from essentially 'caught it', prompting CEO Elon Musk to write on X: "The tower has caught the rocket!"

The achievement is consiered important, as it allows the craft to be reused - unlike previous similar rockets that crashed landed back and could not be used again.

Here is everything we know about the Starship test and what happens next:-

The rocket's first stage 'Super Heavy' booster lifted off at 7:25am local time. As with previous tests, the ship and booster separate just under three minutes after leaving the ground.

After the separation the second stage headed towards space, while the Super Heavy booster started its descent.

As the booster started to return to land , it re-lit three of its 33 Raptor engines to slow its descent towards the tower it had taken off from.

The tower had been fitted with two large metal arms at the top, which acted like a pair of 'chopsticks', catching the Super Heavy booster, which hooked itself in place by tiny, protruding bars under the four forward grid fins it had used to steer itself through the air.

The test was the first attempt to bring the rocket's Super Heavy booster back to the launch tower and SpaceX had said the catching was not guaranteed, with both it and the launch tower having to be in good, stable conditions.

As the booster landed safely, engineers at SpaceX wrote on X that "Mechazilla" had caught the "Super Heavy booster!", adding: "A day for the history books".

Starship, the rocket system's second stage or top half, carried on into space, cruising at roughly 17,000 miles per hour before landing in the Indian Ocean west of Australia in a controlled splashdown.

The SpaceX live stream showed the rocket touching down then toppling on its side, while a separate camera view from a nearby vessel then showed it exploding.

Musk said the ship landed "precisely on target!", while SpaceX confirmed the conclusion of the test mission, writing on social media: "Splashdown confirmed!"

SpaceX's Super Heavy booster lands during SpaceX Starship's fifth flight test, in Boca Chica, Texas, U.S., October 13, 2024.  REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Bea    REFILE  - CORRECTING INFORMATION FROM
SpaceX's Super Heavy booster was caught by two large arms at the launch tower. (Reuters)

Before Sunday, Starship - first unveiled in 2017 - had carried out four test flights, in April and November 2023 and March and June this year.

In previous tests the rocket has exploded in various stages of testing, but in June completed its first full flight for the first time.

SpaceX has claimed that any failures allow it to collect data and develop its systems quickly.

Sunday's test was only approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Saturday - though that was weeks earlier than expected.

The FAA has already approved the mission profile for a sixth Starship test though a specific date has not been confirmed.

Previously Musk has said Starship 6 is already built.

SpaceX's Starship flies during its fifth flight test, in Boca Chica, Texas, U.S., October 13, 2024.  REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Beal
The second stage of the rocket headed into space, and then splashed down into the Indian Ocean. (Reuters)

Elon Musk is hoping to revolutionise spaceflight and in Starship has created the most powerful spacecraft ever built.

The rocket is designed to carry crew and cargo to the moon and Mars, as well as to perform a variety of other spaceflight tasks.

Starship is also designed to be fully reusable, creating something more akin to a plan than traditional rockets, allowing it to land and take off again in a short space of time.

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