SpaceX's "Mechazilla" caught the Super Heavy booster mid-air during incredible landing test [Update]

The article was updated to include available post-flight information.

SpaceX's Mechazilla and Super Heavy booster nailed the first-ever launch pad vertical landing. About seven minutes into the flight, the booster returned to the launch site in Boca Chica, Texas and briefly hovered over the launch tower's "chopsticks".

Additionally, there were no visible issues during the ascent with all 33 Raptors firing as planned all the way up and down.

The Starship continued on a nominal trajectory before reentering the atmosphere. There was visible damage on a forward flap once again; however, nothing major compared to the previous flight.

The ship then changed its orientation to vertical and successfully hit its target in the Indian Ocean. It soft-landed before tipping over and bursting into flames – as intended.

The fifth flight marks another huge milestone for SpaceX, as it opens the possibility of Starship landing on the launch pad too during the upcoming flights.

The launch pad landing is a crucial maneuver for operation and economic reasons. It allows quicker turnarounds and less refurbishment because the rocket is not exposed to salt ocean waters.

Original article: SpaceX aims for a fifth integrated test flight of Starship, the world’s biggest space rocket. The company has a 30-minute launch window starting at 7 a.m. CT, and it aims for a launch at 7:25 a.m. CT.

Today, all eyes stay on the Starbase launch complex in Boca Chica, Texas. That’s because just three minutes into the flight, the Super Heavy first stage will turn around, reignite its engines, and head back to Texas for an unprecedented launch pad landing.

The launch tower features giant jaws nicknamed Mechazilla. After the boostback burn, the Super Heavy will reignite 13 of its 33 Raptor engines, then switch to just three remaining engines. With its ability to hover (which the workhorse Falcon 9 doesn’t have), it will try to get into the sweet spot where it can be safely caught.

As always, the flight will be live-streamed on X:

However, there is a big if. Both the booster and the tower have to be “healthy.” That means thousands of data points must be checked before the flight director sends the booster a manual command for launch pad landing.

If something is wrong, the booster will automatically aim for a soft splashdown landing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Meanwhile, the Starship will travel on a trajectory similar to June’s flight number four. It will soft land in the Indian Ocean in the hope that the journey through the atmosphere won’t be so violent this time around.

During the last flight, the hot plasma literally started to eat the Starship’s forward flaps, as their heatshield tiles were quickly falling off less than 60 kilometers above the surface. However, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said shortly after the flight that the upcoming iteration of Starship that will fly today has already been upgraded to avoid similar issues.

The 65-minute-long mission has no backup launch date. If there is a technical issue or bad weather, we will have to wait for the confirmation of another launch opportunity.