SpaceX launched its fifth test flight of its Starship rocket on Sunday, making a dramatic first catch of the more than 20-story-tall rocket booster.
The achievement marks a major milestone in SpaceX’s goal of making Starship a fully reusable rocket system.
Elon Musk’s company launched Starship at 8:25 a.m. ET from its Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas. The rocket’s “Super Heavy” booster landed back on the arms of the company’s launch tower nearly seven minutes after liftoff.
“Are you kidding?” SpaceX communications manager Dan Hut said on the company’s webcast,” Hoot added.
NASA administrator Bill Nelson congratulated SpaceX in a social media post.
“As we prepare to return to the Moon under Artemis, continued testing will prepare us for the bold missions ahead,” Nelson wrote.
Starship split off and coin to space, traveling halfway to Earth before reentering the atmosphere and crashing into the Indian Ocean, as intended to complete the test.
There were no humans aboard the fifth Starship flight. Company officials have said SpaceX expects to fly hundreds of Starship missions before launching the rocket with a crew.