After a test flight on Sunday, SpaceX successfully “caught” the 233-foot rocket booster, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai congratulated Elon Musk. On his social media site X, Elon Musk posted a video of the Starship rocket booster being detected (previously known as Twitter).
Musk tweeted, “The tower has caught the rocket!!” in reference to the historic accomplishment at the launch site.
Many in the aerospace world and beyond, including NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, praised the milestone, which is being referred to as a “engineering feat.”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote, “Huge congrats, have to admit, rewatched the video many times, incredible to see!” in response to Musk’s remark.
SpaceX makes history.
The nearly 400-foot-tall (121-meter) empty Starship took off from SpaceX’s launch complex in Boca Chica, Texas at 7:25 am CT (4:55 IST). In order to start its descent down to Earth, the Super Heavy booster broke away from the Starship in the second stage at a height of about 70 kilometers.
Targeting the launch pad and tower it had taken off from, the rocket’s Super Heavy booster relit three of its thirty-three Raptor engines in an attempt to slow down its swift return to the launch site.
Little, projecting bars behind the four forward grid fins allowed the 233-foot (71-meter) Super Heavy rocket to hook itself in place as it slid into the launch tower’s enclosing arms.
When the stainless steel booster gradually dropped into the arms of the launch tower, company personnel let out a yell of excitement and began to jump and pump their fists in the air. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson sent his congrats as well as his participation in the festivities.
