SpaceX creates history: ‘Arms’ catch rocket booster

The booster being caught at the launch pad, upon its return. Pic/AFP

SpaceX pulled off the boldest test flight yet of its enormous Starship rocket on Sunday, catching the returning booster back at the launch pad with mechanical arms. A jubilant Elon Musk called it "science fiction without the fiction part".

Towering almost 400 feet, the empty Starship blasted off at sunrise from the southern tip of Texas near the Mexican border. It arced over the Gulf of Mexico like the four Starships before it that ended up being destroyed, either soon after liftoff or while ditching into the sea. The previous one in June had been the most successful until Sunday's demo, completing its flight without exploding.

On Sunday, at the flight director's command, the first-stage booster flew back to the launch pad where it had blasted off seven minutes earlier. The launch tower's monstrous metal arms, dubbed chopsticks, caught the descending 232-foot booster and gripped it tightly, dangling it well above the ground.

The company employees screamed in joy, jumping and pumping their fists into the air as the stainless steel booster slowly lowered itself into the launch tower's arms. NASA joined in the celebration, with Administrator Bill Nelson sending congratulations.

An hour later, the empty spacecraft that was launched atop the booster made a controlled landing in the Indian Ocean as planned.

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