13 Oct 2024

SpaceX catches a Super Heavy booster with launch tower arms on its first attempt

Space and aerospaceAdvanced manufacturing
AI illustration · Illustrative scene, not a photograph of the specific device or experiment.

What was demonstrated

On Starship Flight 5, launched from Starbase near Boca Chica, Texas, on 13 October 2024, a Super Heavy booster was caught by the chopstick arms of the launch tower about seven minutes after liftoff. A SpaceX manager is quoted as saying this was the first attempt at the catch. The booster was not flown again as part of this record.

Why it matters

The article describes a booster caught by the launch tower's arms. If the booster is later reflown and the catch can be repeated, this could shorten turnaround between flights. This is an inference, not a finding the article reports.

Caveats

  • This is one test flight on the first attempt. It does not show that catches are routine or reliable across flights.
  • The record covers the booster catch only. The outcome of the upper stage (Ship) on this flight is outside the scope of this entry.
  • The source is a news report of the flight, not a SpaceX page. SpaceX's own flight summary was not opened for this record.

Technology profiles

Sources

  1. news
    SpaceX Catches a Falling Starship: A First in Spaceflight History
    Mike Wall (SPACE.com). Scientific American, 15 Oct 2024.

Last reviewed 21 Oct 2026.