Starship booster caught at the tower

On 13 October 2024, during Starship's fifth integrated flight test, SpaceX attempted something never tried before: instead of landing the giant Super Heavy booster on legs, it guided the returning rocket back to the launch pad and caught it in mid-air with two enormous mechanical arms — nicknamed "chopsticks" — mounted on the launch tower.

It worked on the very first attempt. The booster, taller than a 20-story building, slowed to a hover beside the tower and settled gently into the arms' grip, drawing gasps from engineers and spectators alike.

Catching the booster rather than landing it on legs removes weight from the rocket and is the key to the rapid, aircraft-like reusability SpaceX needs to make Starship economical. It was one of the most audacious engineering feats in the history of rocketry — and a vivid demonstration of how far the company's reusability ambitions reach.