Flight report · October 13, 2024
Flight 5: Mechazilla catches Super Heavy
On October 13, 2024, the tower chopsticks caught the booster on the first catch attempt while Starship completed another controlled Indian Ocean splashdown.
Starship / Super Heavy · Orbital Launch Pad 1 · Flight 5 of 14
Outcome
First tower catch / ship splashdown
- Ship
- Ship 30Success
- Expended · Expended after flight
- Booster
- Booster 12Success
- Retired · Starbase rocket garden
Key figures
- Liftoff
- Oct 13, 2024
- Pad
- Orbital Launch Pad 1
- Booster result
- Tower catch
- Ship result
- Indian Ocean splash
01 / 03
The flight
What happened
Flight 5 lifted off on October 13, 2024 with the boldest recovery objective yet: return Super Heavy to the launch tower and catch it in the mechanical arms.
After ascent, hot-staging, boostback, and coast, Booster 12 lit its landing burn and was caught by Mechazilla at Starbase on the first attempt.
02 / 03
The catch
Thousands of vehicle and pad criteria had to line up before the catch was even armed. When they did, the chopsticks closed on a booster that had left the same pad minutes earlier.
It was the clearest single image yet of rapid reuse: the first stage back on the mount hardware instead of in the ocean.
03 / 03
Ship return
Ship 30 completed ascent into space, coasted across the planet, and flew a controlled reentry through peak heating and max dynamic pressure.
A flip, landing burn, and splashdown in the Indian Ocean closed the flight about an hour after liftoff.