Starship Booster Lands With Mechazilla Arms In Bold SpaceX Test

In a grand display of engineering prowess, SpaceX’s Starship embarked on its boldest test flight yet on Sunday. For the first time, the massive Super Heavy booster returned to its Texas launch pad, performing a dramatic landing using giant metal arms, marking a significant milestone in SpaceX’s mission to build a fully reusable vehicle for moon and Mars travel. The test flight began at 7:25 a.m. central time, with the towering 233-foot-tall Super Heavy booster lifting off from SpaceX's Boca Chica facilities. The booster propelled the Starship’s second stage toward space before separating at around 70 km altitude, paving the way for its return to Earth. In a spectacular landing sequence, the booster roared back to the pad and was caught mid-air by the launch tower’s metal arms—known as "Mechazilla." Guided by four grid fins, the booster locked into place using this innovative "chopsticks maneuver," a novel technique aimed at enabling rapid reusability. This successful test marks another step forward in SpaceX’s ambitious vision of reusable rockets capable of ferrying cargo and astronauts to the moon and, ultimately, Mars. Although earlier tests saw explosive setbacks, Starship achieved its first fully successful flight in June 2024, bringing Musk’s dream of interplanetary travel closer to reality.