SpaceX caught a skyscraper with another skyscraper at Starbase, Texas

On the morning of Sunday, October 13th, 2024, SpaceX launched the fifth flight test of the Starship Super Heavy, the world's most powerful rocket, after a last minute license was granted by the FAA.

Supercluster dispatched photographers Pauline Acalin and Tom Cross to shoot Starship's liftoff and a potential attempt to catch the massive Super Heavy booster with Mechazilla, the launch tower's chopsticks arms. An idea that seemed outlandish up until SpaceX's livestream said they were actually going for it, minutes after a surprisingly routine liftoff.

So routine that the launch of Starship itself became an afterthought.

After delivering Starship to space, the Super Heavy booster appeared in the skies overhead to the cheers of onlookers who attended the launch, many with their families. Our team captured reactions during the booster's round trip flight that were shared on our socials. Screams grew louder as Super Heavy slowed down, relighting its Raptor engines and seamlessly cozying up into the arms of Mechazilla. It's all going to explode now right? Nope.

Super Heavy was successfully caught on the very first attempt, earning praise and shock from around the world. Many remarking on the engineering breakthrough and the grit of SpaceX's team. The government and policy folks who battled the FAA for permission to fly also deserve recognition.

"Prior to catch, Starship executed another successful hot-staging separation, igniting its six Raptor engines and completing ascent into outer space," said SpaceX. "It coasted along its planned trajectory to the other side of the planet before executing a controlled reentry, passing through the phases of peak heating and maximum aerodynamic pressure, before executing a flip, landing burn, and splashdown at its target area in the Indian Ocean."

"Just inspected the Starship booster, which the arms have now placed back in its launch mount. Looks great!" Elon Musk posted on X. "A few outer engine nozzles are warped from heating & some other minor issues, but these are easily addressed. Starship is designed to achieve reflight of its rocket booster ultimately within an hour after liftoff. The booster returns within ~5 minutes, so the remaining time is reloading propellant and placing a ship on top of the booster."