📱 SpaceX has returned Super Heavy — the first stage of Starship — to the launch pad for the first time
On Sunday, SpaceX successfully launched its enormous spacecraft Starship and, for the first time, returned the Super Heavy booster to the launch site, catching it using the Mechazilla tower.
Launch
🚀 The approximately 120-meter-tall Starship is the central element of SpaceX's mission — to make life multi-planetary. SpaceX strives to rapidly reuse the entire Starship system, including the upper stage and the Super Heavy booster. To achieve this, they need to be able to return both stages and quickly prepare them for subsequent flights.
Return of Super Heavy
🧑🚀 This fifth test flight of Starship marked an important step in the history of rocketry — the Super Heavy booster landed on the Mechazilla platform and was caught by its mechanical "arms." Upon return, the booster slowed down and carefully positioned itself between two arms, which then closed around it ⤴️
Significance for Space Exploration
⭐ Returning the booster allows for significant cost reductions in space missions.
⭐ The ability to quickly return and reuse the Super Heavy booster could reduce the time between launches to 30 minutes.
Source: TechCrunch
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