SpaceX 'chopstick' successfully grips booster for first time

SpaceX has made a test flight of its Starship V spacecraft, successfully "holding" a giant booster like chopsticks for the first time.

SpaceX's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, test-fired the Starship 5 at around 7:25 a.m. (8:25 p.m., Singapore time) on Sunday.

After the booster completed the launch, it returned to the ground on its own, and the robotic arm commonly known as "chopsticks" on the launch tower "grabbed" the booster, which is the first time SpaceX successfully captured the booster with "chopsticks". Starship V also successfully landed in the Indian Ocean.

This is an important milestone in the history of space exploration and brings SpaceX one step closer to achieving its goal of reusable rocket parts.

Spacex founder Elon Musk posted on social media Sunday: "Tower catches rocket!"

The Starship system, which SpaceX has invested more than $5 billion to develop, is considered the most powerful launch vehicle ever built. The ship is 121 meters tall and has a carrying capacity of up to 150 metric tons when fully reusable. It consists of a passenger vehicle and a super-heavy rocket booster, both of which are reusable.

Engineers "spend years preparing and months testing booster capture, and technicians invest tens of thousands of hours building infrastructure to maximize success," the company said in an earlier statement.

SpaceX's Starship rocket system has made four test flights since April last year, the first three of which suffered explosions and lost contact, and the fourth achieved a soft landing on the sea surface.