Mid-air capture of rocket booster towards reusable rocket technology

Abstract

An important engineering achievement was made during the fifth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket system, as the Super Heavy booster — responsible for launching the rocket into space — was successfully caught mid-air at the Texas launch pad. After completing its role, the booster separated from the upper stage to reduce weight, allowing Starship to continue its journey. Typically, rocket boosters are either discarded by burning up on re-entry or fall into the ocean, where recovery is challenging and costly. By contrast, the Super Heavy booster is designed to be recovered on land, making reusability far more practical. In the recent test, the booster re-ignited some of its engines to slow its descent and navigated back to the launch site, where it was caught by the launch tower’s giant mechanical arms. This approach to recovering the rocket’s booster marks a key advancement in developing fully reusable rockets, with the aim of reducing costs and turnaround times for future missions.