SpaceX Catches Returning Rocket Booster on Tower

On October 13, 2024, SpaceX completed the fifth integrated test flight of its Starship system from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, recovering the Super Heavy booster intact when the launch tower's mechanical arms (the Mechazilla catch system) caught it on descent — the first successful tower-catch of a returning orbital-class booster. The 71-meter booster was caught seven minutes after liftoff and held by the tower for inspection rather than refurbishment from a sea or pad landing. The catch demonstrated rapid-reuse architecture intended to enable cadence at far lower marginal launch cost than expendable systems.