The rocket’s 232-foot (71-meter) Super Heavy booster was being returned to the launch tower for the first time.
Its rapid plunge was slowed by re-igniting three of its 33 Raptor engines.
At a height of 46 miles (74 km), the booster broke away from the Starship second stage and returned to Boca Chica, Texas, where it was secured with what the corporation refers to as “chopsticks” and fastened in place.
It may be argued that they resemble enormous pincers atop a big steel tower.
The booster’s capture was not assured. According to SpaceX, it and the launch tower needed to be in stable, decent conditions.
However, it seemed to take a calm, controlled approach to settling into its position.
The maneuver is a significant advancement because, in the past, rocket launchers of the same size, such as Saturn V, crashed back to Earth and were thought to be disposable.
“The tower has caught the rocket!!” Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, posted on X, which he also owns.
Less than a minute before landing, space journalist Kate Arkless Gray reported that the booster was still moving at supersonic speed.
