Starship Flight 5 — the first chopstick catch
A 70-m booster flew back to its tower and was caught mid-air — the door to full reusability opened.
The story
On the morning of 13 October 2024 the Super Heavy booster of Starship Flight 5 finished its ascent and returned to the launch site seven minutes later. It has no landing legs — the two robotic arms of the launch tower, nicknamed "Mechazilla", caught the falling 70 m, 250-tonne vehicle in mid-air. It was the first attempt, and it worked.
The booster killed its speed from thousands of km/h to nearly zero with a landing burn while sliding in beside the tower, and the arms tracked the lifting pins on the vehicle to receive it — a collaboration measured in milliseconds. In exchange for shedding several tonnes of legs, a failure could have destroyed the whole tower.
The point of the catch is turnaround, not acrobatics. Removing the legs saves mass, and the catch position is the next launch position, so the aim is to bring the service-and-relaunch cycle down to airline timescales. If Falcon 9's sea landings were the first act of rocket reuse, this catch is likely to be recorded as the start of the second.
On the same flight the upper stage circled most of the Earth and splashed down precisely in the Indian Ocean. In 2025 a caught booster flew again. SpaceX publishes the flight video, and the size-ladder view compares the booster's 70 m with other rockets.
Why it matters
The economics of rocket reuse depend on turnaround. A Falcon 9 booster lands, is shipped back to port and refurbished over several weeks. Catching at the tower and relaunching from the same spot aims to cut those weeks to days, and Starship's cost targets do not hold without that turnaround.
The catch is precision landing taken to its extreme. Falcon 9 lands within a few metres; the catch has to put the lifting pins within tens of centimetres. The same precision applies to setting down at a chosen spot on the Moon or Mars.
The Starship lunar lander (HLS) relies on the same guidance. Before Artemis III can stand a Starship on a narrow site at the lunar south pole, the precision of being caught by a tower on Earth had to be proven.
How to watch
Starship launches and catches take place at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, streamed live by SpaceX. The booster returns to the tower about seven minutes after lift-off and the ship splashes down in the Indian Ocean about an hour later.
Because the flights do not stay in orbit, Starship is not in the sky view's satellite list. A re-entry track passing over an observer can look like a bright meteor, and the track is published before each flight.
The size-ladder view compares the Super Heavy booster (70 m) and the full Starship (121 m) with the Saturn V, SLS and Falcon 9; switch to mass comparison to see what 5,000 tonnes at lift-off means.
Background
The booster's precise soft splashdown at its ocean target on Flight 4 (June 2024) was the basis for attempting the catch. The Flight 5 licence was delayed two months by a Federal Aviation Administration environmental review and issued the day before launch.
On Flight 6 (November 2024) a tower-sensor problem led to the catch being waved off and the booster splashing down; Flight 7 (January 2025) achieved the second catch. In the second half of 2025 a caught booster was relaunched, demonstrating booster reuse.
Catching the ship is harder than catching the booster — it re-enters from orbital speed, the heat-shield tiles must survive, and returning to the tower needs a precise deorbit. Ship catches are planned for the V3 generation onward.
In the final phase of a catch, Super Heavy starts its landing burn on 13 of its 33 engines, throttles down to three and descends beside the tower. The moment the two lifting pins at the top of the vehicle settle onto the rails of the arms, the engines shut down and the arms hold 250 tonnes at rest. The decision to catch is automatic: if sensors on the vehicle or the tower fall outside limits at the last moment, the booster diverts to the sea. The waved-off catch on Flight 6 was that automatic judgement at work.
FAQ
Why no landing legs?
To save several tonnes of mass and to make the catch position the next launch position, shortening the relaunch cycle.
Was it the first attempt?
Yes — the first attempt, on Flight 5, 13 October 2024, succeeded.
What happens if it fails?
The whole tower could be lost; on Flight 6 a sensor problem led to waving off the catch and splashing down at sea.
Will the ship be caught too?
It is planned, but re-entry and a precise deorbit make it harder; ship catches are expected from the V3 generation.
Related
- Starship test flights — the story so far
- Starship Flight 14
- Artemis III lunar landing
- The Moon — object index
- Earth — object index
Times and figures are approximate — verify with official sources when planning travel. Simulation uses J2000 mean elements.