Date:
October 14, 2024
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has achieved a feat that will revolutionize the reusability of rockets, boosters, and flights sent to space.
Elon Musk has achieved a significant milestone in SpaceX's launch capabilities of flying spacecraft to the Moon and Mars. The super heavy booster that helps the starship’s first launch stage into space was caught successfully by the mechanical arms, called ‘Chopsticks’ of the Mechazilla launch pad. This successful recovery of the super-heavy booster marks a huge breakthrough in empowering the reusability of space equipment.
This was Elon Musk’s fifth attempt at safely bringing back the super heavy booster after launching a starship. In early attempts, the retrieved booster was either destroyed due to overheating or had more than expected burnt and unusable parts. This was the first time SpaceX could actually capture the booster in a state that could relaunch another starship within an hour of checkup and preparation.
The majority of space agencies rely on ocean beds to bring back starships and launch boosters to the land. However, the returned equipment never remains fully functional or is destroyed in an unexpected explosion. This puts millions of dollars at stake and puts many important human lives at high risk.
Elon Musk tweeted the status of the Super Heavy booster in a post on X and revealed the process of relaunching in best-case scenarios.
“Just inspected the Starship booster, which the arms have now placed back in its launch mount. Looks great! Home TV A few outer engine nozzles are warped from heating & some other minor issues, but these are easily addressed. Elections Starship is designed to achieve re-flight of its rocket booster ultimately within an hour after liftoff. The booster returns within
- Elon Musk
This achievement will reduce the time of launching multiple spaceships to just one hour. It will also help reduce the one-time cost of launches. This will also increase the frequency of space missions aimed at lunar and martian expeditions.
