SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft successfully landed in the Indian Ocean just over an hour after its 8:25AM ET launch from South Texas. The Super Heavy booster made a remarkable return to its launchpad in under seven minutes, being caught by SpaceX’s innovative “chopsticks” arms.
This achievement marks a significant milestone for SpaceX, moving towards a fully reusable launch system similar to the Falcon 9 rockets. The booster’s precise landing today mirrors its previous flight test in June, where it splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico.
The test today, delayed briefly for boat clearance, is the second full Starship launch, flight, and return. After reentering the Earth’s atmosphere around 45 minutes post-launch, the craft gently splashed down in the Indian Ocean at 9:30AM ET, followed by an explosion.
SpaceX made critical design changes to Starship’s heat shield for this test following issues in June. New heat shielding tiles and an additional ablative layer were added, as detailed by ArsTechnica.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted approval for this test flight just yesterday, earlier than expected. Originally planned for next month, the FAA and partner agencies expedited their assessments of SpaceX’s readiness.
Update October 13th: The article has been revised to reflect Starship’s successful splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
