Science News

Article originally written by Daphne Panie ’27.

Space Travel, a children’s dream, may now become a reality as a major breakthrough in this field was made a couple of weeks ago. On October 13, 2024, Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, Tesla, and Starship, made history as he caught the booster of his Super-Heavy Starship rocket using two metallic arms, also known as “chopsticks”, in Southern Texas. The rocket, named Starship, is a fully reusable transportation system, allowing SpaceX to reuse the most expensive part, drastically lowering the space travel costs. Elon Musk’s rocket will be used to transport persons and cargo to the Earth’s orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond. It is the most powerful rocket ever created and is capable of carrying hundreds of metric tons. It is also capable of carrying more than 100 persons during long periods of time during future interplaneterial flights. On its way to Mars, in low Earth atmosphere, Starship would be refueled using a fuel tanker before starting its journey to Mars.

This was the successful fifth attempt and received much praise from scientists and astronauts. After having taken off and reached a height of 65km, the super heavy booster separated from the core rocket. The rocket then accomplished a loop around the Earth before coming back above the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, the booster fell back on Earth freely at a speed of more than thousands of miles an hour. As it came closer to the tower, Starship relighted three of its engines to slow down, before being finally caught by two metallic arms. Catching the booster, rather than making it launch on a platform dramatically reduces the cost as there is no need to create a complex launching platform. 

Forty minutes later, the rocket successfully landed in the Indian Ocean, achieving Musk’s second objective. SpaceX managed to preserve some hardware, which was an unexpected victory, making it easier to attempt more launches in the future. 

As thousands of criteria must have been met for the rocket to be receipted by the metallic arms, SpaceX’s achievement is breathtaking in the field of space travel. Elon Musk’s vision of space travel to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, and humans becoming a multi-planetary species is slowly turning into a reality. In roughly two years, the planets will be almost perfectly aligned and the space travel conditions will be optimal, which leads SpaceX planning to attempt sending the first human to Mars. 

Elon Musk has no plan to stop there and wants to proceed to more tests in the future. However, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that SpaceX would not be permitted to try more launches before November, as the FAA needs to review the license and the potential impacts that this rocket can have on the environment. 

As a response to this considerable achievement, a former Canadian astronaut, Chris Hadfield posted on social media: “There was an enormous step forward in human capability today. Makes me even more excited for our collective future. Congratulations to all at SpaceX!”

Sources:

Starship (Cover Image)
https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Elon Musk’s Starship booster captured in world first
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8xe7exjy1go

SpaceX launches Starship rocket and catches booster in giant metal arms
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/oct/13/spacex-elon-musk-launches-and-lands-starship-rocket-in-first-test-of-giant-robotic-arms