SpaceX stops using 'chopsticks' to pick up Starship rocket boosters

In the 6th test launch this morning, the Starship rocket took off successfully but SpaceX canceled the "chopsticks" landing, the booster stage landed in the sea.

SpaceX's Starship rocket system takes off in Texas on November 20. (Photo: SpaceX)

At 4:00 p.m. on November 19 (local time), or 5:00 a.m. on November 20 (Hanoi time) , the Starship rocket system took off from the launch pad at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The 33 Raptor engines in the Super Heavy booster fired, sending the rocket flying into space.

About three minutes after launch, the Super Heavy booster and Starship's upper stage successfully separated. However, SpaceX decided not to use the launch tower and wand to capture the return booster as it did in the fifth test flight in October. Instead, the booster gently landed in the Gulf of Mexico seven minutes after liftoff.

The company has not given a specific reason for the decision to abolish the use of chopsticks, but said that many factors need to go in the right direction for this method to be implemented.

President-elect Donald Trump watched the test live alongside SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, a sign of their close relationship. However, Trump did not get to see the booster stage retained in the launch tower's wand arm — an engineering feat that took place during last month's test and which he touted in his victory speech.

Starship booster lands in the Gulf of Mexico. (Video: AFP/SpaceX).

The upper stage of the Starship rocket began its descent back into Earth's atmosphere about 40 minutes after launch, undergoing a period of extreme heating. SpaceX deliberately put Starship into a more aggressive reentry mode, removing more than 20,000 heat shields to test the vehicle in high-pressure, high-temperature environments.

Sixty-five minutes after launch, the Starship upper stage landed safely in the Indian Ocean, intact despite a rough landing. "It turns out this vehicle has more capabilities than we thought and anticipated. That's why we tested it ," said SpaceX engineer Kate Tice.

SpaceX had previously planned to film the Starship's upper stage landing in the Indian Ocean in daylight, which would provide better detail. In previous test flights, the stage landed at night, so the footage didn't give engineers as much information as daytime footage.

Starship is the launch system that is gradually proving SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's ambition to send humans to Mars for the first time. This is the tallest (120m) and most powerful rocket ever built, capable of generating nearly 8,000 tons of thrust at launch.

During the first test flight on April 20, 2023, three of the booster's 33 engines failed to fire. The rocket then lost control and self-destructed.

The second flight on November 18, 2023, went further, reaching high enough altitude for the booster and upper stages to separate as planned. The booster exploded before touchdown and the upper stage self-destructed, although the rocket system successfully reached space.

The third test on March 14 this year was partially successful when the upper stage again reached space, but failed to return to the ground intact.

During the flight on June 6, the upper stage reached an altitude of more than 200 km and traveled at a speed of more than 27,000 km/h. Both the booster and upper stage landed gently in the sea.

The fifth flight on October 13 was the most ambitious test to date, with the Super Heavy booster returning to the launch pad and being safely captured by the Mechazilla launch tower with a 'chopstick.' Meanwhile, the Starship upper stage landed in the Indian Ocean.