Elon Musk's SpaceX Makes History With First-Ever 'Catch' Of Super Heavy Booster By Launch Tower's Mechanical Arms

In a groundbreaking achievement, Elon Musk's SpaceX successfully "caught" the first-stage booster of its Starship rocket on Sunday (13 October) as it returned to the launch pad after a test flight, marking a world-first in the company's pursuit of rapid reusability.

The super heavy booster, which launched attached to the Starship rocket, completed its flight and returned in a controlled manner to the launchpad in Texas.

"Folks, this is a day for the engineering history books," a SpaceX spokesperson said in a voiceover on the company's livestream, after as the booster was caught by the tower's mechanical arms.

"The tower has caught the rocket!!" SpaceX founder Musk posted on X.

The launch took place at 7:25 am (1225 GMT) under clear skies.

As the booster returned to the launch site, the upper stage of the Starship reached the orbit and later splashed down in a controlled manner in the Indian Ocean within the hour.

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