The upper deck of the Starship lands in the ocean

The upper stage of Starship successfully landed in the Indian Ocean during its fifth test flight after the Super Heavy booster returned to the ground, held by "chopsticks" on the launch tower.

The upper stage of SpaceX's fifth Starship spacecraft landed in the Indian Ocean on October 13. (Video: SpaceX).

In the video SpaceX released on October 18 on X, the upper stage of the Starship spacecraft turned around and made a landing at sea on October 13.

SpaceX previously made history by successfully catching the Starship's Super Heavy booster with the launch tower's "wand" about 7 minutes after takeoff.

The 50-meter-high upper stage of Starship, also known as Ship, then successfully returned to Earth. It landed at a precise spot in the Indian Ocean, halfway around the world from the launch site in South Texas.

SpaceX successfully recovered the Super Heavy rocket stage on October 13. (Video: Space).

'Starship's roll and landing burn during its fifth test flight. Vehicle enhancements ensured the wings were protected from high temperatures, resulting in a controlled descent and a precise landing at the target area in the Indian Ocean ,' SpaceX wrote in a post on X.

In a reply to the post on X, Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, wrote on October 18: "Awesome, what a great video!".

There won't be many more sea landings in the future for Ship. SpaceX plans to bring both the upper stage and Super Heavy back to land on the launch tower in the future — something that seems entirely possible given the success of the fifth test flight, according to Musk.

"Starship achieved a precise and gentle landing in the ocean, paving the way for return to the launch site and capture by the tower's arms, just like the booster stage. The ability to fully and quickly reuse improves the cost of reaching orbit and beyond. This is the fundamental technological breakthrough needed to make multi-planetary life a reality and for us to become a truly spacefaring civilization ," Musk wrote in another post on X on October 18.

Musk previously shared plans to launch the Starship's upper stage using chopsticks in early 2025, similar to the Super Heavy booster stage.

SpaceX is developing the Starship, which will stand 122m tall. The launch system consists of the Super Heavy launch vehicle and the Starship spacecraft on top. The booster rocket is on the first stage and the spacecraft carrying people and cargo is on the second stage. The rocket's job is to send the Starship to a point in orbit, after which the Starship will continue flying on its own engines while the rocket returns to Earth. Both parts are reusable.

Catching Starship at the launch tower may not apply to all of the rocket's missions. For example, the upper stage that will take humans to the surface of the Moon and Mars, if all goes according to plan, will probably require a vertical landing using boosters assisted by a stand.

NASA has chosen Starship to land astronauts on the Moon as part of its Artemis program. When Starship makes its journey to the Moon, it will stay in low Earth orbit while SpaceX launches separate support vehicles to refuel the ship. The earliest astronaut mission to land on the Moon is 2026.