WATCH: Elon Musk’s Starship makes history, catches booster with 'chopsticks'
Rocket boosters are normally dumped into the ocean after they are used.
The rocket booster of SpaceX's Starship safely lands on launch pad. Photo: YouTube/SBS News (screenshot)
Bongani Bingwa catches up on the latest world news from Verity Geere.
(Skip to 2:44 for this one.)
While rocketship test flights are common, safely landing a ship’s booster is not.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX achieved a significant milestone on Sunday (13 October) after catching the massive booster using robotic ‘chopstick’ arms.
The Starship was successfully launched from the company’s launch pad in Texas.
As the rocket reached altitude, the booster separated 65 km above the earth and successfully landed back on the launch pad, a world first.
Rocket boosters are normally dumped into the ocean after they are used.
“The chances of the booster being caught so clean on a first trial seemed really quite remote… this also means they are reusable – the space rocket and the boosters.”
- Verity Geere
This was the fifth Starship launch, the most successful jockey to date.
Musk hopes to one day be able to carry people to the moon and Mars.
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the discussion.