SpaceX Starship Launch 5 Ends With Historic Super Heavy Catch by Mechazilla

The much-awaited fifth test flight of SpaceX's Starship full-stack mission did not disappoint, as it successfully launched and landed both rockets, alongside its historic feat with the Super Heavy's return. SpaceX claimed that Launch 5 would attempt to catch the Super Heavy using the Mechazilla chopsticks in its return to the surface, and the company now crossed it off its agenda.

With this success, SpaceX's claims of a reusable rocket that would be ready for the next launch are slowly turning into reality, with Mechazilla also serving as the launchpad for the fully-stacked Mars-bound spacecraft.

SpaceX Starship Launch 5 Historically Caught Super Heavy

SpaceX Super Heavy Mechazilla

SpaceX's Starship Launch 5, a.k.a. the fifth flight test, ended on a high note Sunday, as the company did not see any explosions or mishaps, but instead retrieved both of its rockets via mid-air and on the sea, separately. According to SpaceX, this is the first mission where it attempted to catch the Super Heavy Booster rocket with the Mechazilla, using its "chopstick" arms to historically catch the rocket mid-air.

The company is now boasting of this successful feat, especially as it is only its first attempt to use Mechazilla in catching a rocket that is descending from the skies, after the many challenges it faced along the way.

On the other hand, SpaceX also demonstrated a landing maneuver done by the main Starship rocket where it flipped mid-air as it entered the planet nose-first, igniting its engines before splashing down in its target area of the Indian Ocean.

Mechazilla Chopsticks Success with Super Heavy

SpaceX revealed that the entire fifth flight test lasted for 1 hour and five minutes, successfully completing a launch and land feat, including this historic moment for Super Heavy and Mechazilla.

Elon Musk previously referred to Mechazilla as "chopsticks" since its arms would seemingly clip the Super Heavy as it returns to the towering machine. Previously, Mechazilla only served as a launch pad to hold the fully-stacked Starship and Super Heavy Booster, but this recent milestone redefined its purpose to enable the company's reusability plans.

SpaceX's Starship: Is It Mission Ready?

Elon Musk has massive plans for SpaceX's most prized rocket in its fleet, the Starship, in the future of this evolving space industry, as its Stainless Steel spacecraft is bound for Mars and deliver the first humans to the neighboring planet. If the approval for Starship's regular mission comes, SpaceX previously claimed that it would hold up to 120 launches per year, despite opposition from rivals.

However, SpaceX's ambitions do not stop there as it also set a goal that by 2030, its crewed mission to Mars will commence and bring humans to a new world, starting off with the Red Planet. Musk previously touted that humans were meant for interplanetary life, and Starship will fulfill these aspirations for humankind, along with establishing a colony that expands life on Earth.

Musk also previously claimed that Starship's Mars missions would begin to fly as early as 2026, four years ahead of its 2030 claims, but this would likely be unmanned missions for the time being. The future of Starship is slowly turning into reality with its successes in test flights, with SpaceX bagging yet another win toward bringing humans closer to exploring Mars.