SpaceX launches Starship spacecraft and successfully lands booster
Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX (photo: Getty Images)
On Sunday, SpaceX conducted the fifth test flight of the Starship spacecraft from Texas, Reuters and CNN report. In the process, the company achieved something it had not done before, namely, a successful landing of the booster.
According to media reports, SpaceX has returned a huge rocket's first stage booster to Earth for the first time using a new reentry method using two large metal levers called chopsticks.
The Super Heavy booster, having separated from the Starship rocket at an altitude of about 74 km (46 miles), returned to the same place from which it was launched.
The media specify that while the work on the Super Heavy booster is complete, the Starship spacecraft is still in space. The device started its own engines after the accelerator separation and is now moving by inertia in space.
After the start, Starship may re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. The ship will try to perform a landing maneuver over the Indian Ocean.
The company itself later reported that the spacecraft had successfully landed after its fifth test flight.
The tower has caught the rocket!!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 13, 2024
pic.twitter.com/CPXsHJBdUh
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted a video of the accelerator landing on his page on the social network X.
