SpaceX’s Mechazilla works: it caught the Starship rocket booster in flight

It seemed impossible, but we have the video that confirms it. SpaceX has used its Mechazilla to hold the Starship’s booster in flight while it landed. A video that you cannot miss.

Today was a critical day for SpaceX, for NASA, and for space missions to the Moon. For the first time, SpaceX was going to test its Mechazillaas she herself has called it: a launch tower with two huge mechanical arms more than ten meters longready to capture in flight the booster of the largest megarocket ever manufactured, the Starship.

It is an unusual way to land a rocket, more typical of a Japanese science fiction series than a space company. But SpaceX has done it.

This is how you catch a rocket in flight

SpaceX is known for its ability to recover the propellants of its Falcon 9 rockets, which return alone to Earth after putting a capsule or satellites into orbit, and land on a maritime platform.

But the thrusters of the Falcon 9, which is an orbital rocket, are one thing, and those of Starship, the ship that will travel to the Moon, and Mars, which are much larger, are another.

Being larger, these boosters are more difficult to brake for landing, and to stay upright once they land. So SpaceX has come up with the Mechazilla: a huge tower with two gigantic arms to hold the booster, and don’t fall.

SpaceX’s idea is that, as it descends to the ground, Mechazilla’s arms hold the rocket while the propulsion is turned off.

But it’s one thing to say it, and another to do it. It is an extremely difficult operation, because the thruster must be directed precisely towards the Mechazilla, and must catch it with two arms, supporting an enormous weight, and the force of the engines not yet turned off.

For the first time, SpaceX has achieved it. And at the first. You can see it in this spectacular video:

As we see, the SpaceX booster has used its engines to head towards the tower, and once next to it, the mechanical arms of the Mechazilla They have closed on the rocket. It is advisable to watch the video on a monitor or television to observe it in detail.

Mechazilla has held the booster for a few seconds, while still having his rockets active.

Although the operation was a success, experts have seen some problemssuch as excessive flare around the propeller.

Recovering the Starship rocket propellants is vital to reducing the cost of trips to the Moon. SpaceX has taken another step, but there is still a long way to go.

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Tags: NASA, Viral, Curiosities, Elon Musk