Elon Musk announced that the Super Heavy rocket, which returned safely after launch, can be re-launched within an hour. This is a major achievement for SpaceX, following the successful recovery of the Super Heavy booster during the fifth test flight of the Starship rocket.
The Super Heavy booster was caught by mechanical arms, nicknamed "chopsticks," just seven minutes after launching from Boca Chica, Texas, on Sunday. This is the first time SpaceX has caught a booster directly on its launch pad instead of using ocean platforms for recovery.
Musk expressed his excitement on social media, saying, "Just inspected the Starship booster, which the arms have now placed back in its launch mount. Looks great!" He mentioned that while some of the engine nozzles were damaged by heat, they can be easily fixed. The quick return of the booster is important for SpaceX’s goal of achieving rapid re-flights, ideally within an hour of launch. This process involves reloading fuel and placing the Starship on top of the booster.
SpaceX’s new recovery method could change space travel by reducing the time between flights. During this mission, the Starship’s upper stage was also sent on a suborbital flight, aiming for a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean about 65 minutes after launch.
This successful catch has excited the aerospace community, with many calling it a historic engineering achievement. SpaceX is developing Starship Super Heavy to launch humans to the Moon and Mars, bringing Musk's vision of routine space travel closer to reality.
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