SpaceX successfully completed its Starship prototype’s landing test, impressively catching the falling spacecraft in an unprecedented ‘chopstick’ move.

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft safely landed in the Indian Ocean, approximately one hour after its 8:25 AM ET liftoff from South Texas. About seven minutes after lift-off, the Tremendous Heavy booster landed safely back at its launch site, guided by the “chopstick” arms of SpaceX’s launch tower.

The successful recovery of the payload fairing marked a crucial milestone for SpaceX, paving the way for the development of a fully reusable launch system akin to their proven Falcon 9 rockets. When the booster landed in the Gulf of Mexico, it executed an identical sequence of maneuvers that it had performed up until then, as planned.

As scheduled, SpaceX’s latest flight, following a 25-minute delay caused by the need to clear boats from the launch site, successfully marked the company’s second fully operational Starship launch, flight, and landing on Earth. Following its 45-minute journey back to Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft made a gentle splashdown in the Indian Ocean, landing at precisely 9:30 AM Eastern Time. A massive explosion suddenly shook the spacecraft.

After experiencing fragmentation of its thermal protection during a June reentry test, SpaceX has revamped the warmth shield of its Starship spacecraft to ensure a smoother and safer return to Earth. The corporation recently installed new warmth-shielding tiles and implemented an additional backup ablative layer as a precautionary measure just last week.

The Federal Aviation Administration has granted SpaceX clearance for a test flight. Although initially expected to launch next month, the FAA and its partner agencies conducted thorough reviews of SpaceX’s readiness.