SpaceX accomplished a historic first on Flight 5 of its Starship rocket on October 13, 2025. The massive 400-foot Starship vehicle launched from the Starbase location in South Texas and returned successfully, marking a groundbreaking achievement in spaceflight. This marked the seventh launch of the Starship rocket, with a focus on returning the massive first-stage rocket named Super Heavy directly to its launch mount using the launch tower’s “chopstick” arms.
In a breathtaking maneuver, Super Heavy hovered near the Mechazilla launch tower, and its metal arms captured it while appearing to touch down on target only seven minutes after liftoff. This successful catch was an engineering marvel and a momentous occasion for SpaceX, as the company aims to make spaceflight more affordable and accessible through reusable rocket technology.
To commemorate this historic event, SpaceX is offering a desktop model of its Starship rocket for enthusiasts to own a piece of spaceflight history. The model is 13.77 inches tall and made of alloy steel, allowing fans to bring a piece of the monumental achievement into their homes.
The successful landing of the Super Heavy booster is a significant milestone in SpaceX’s goal of creating a multiplanetary society. The landing concept of the Super Heavy at the launch mount will save flying time and make the vehicle entirely and quickly reusable, revolutionizing spaceflight as we know it. SpaceX’s founder and CEO, Elon Musk, hailed this as a big step toward making life multiplanetary, envisioning a future where humanity can settle on the moon, Mars, and beyond.
NASA has chosen SpaceX’s Starship as its first crewed lander for its Artemis moon mission program, with plans for the spacecraft to land NASA personnel on the lunar surface. Flight 5 of the Starship rocket featured a complete rework of its heat shield system, including new-generation tiles, ablative layers, and additional protections between flap structures, ensuring the spacecraft’s safety during reentry.
Over the years, SpaceX has conducted several test flights to improve the performance of the Starship rocket. The recent successful landing of Flight 5 is a testament to the company’s dedication to innovation and progress in space exploration. Despite delays in FAA approval for the launch, SpaceX remains committed to pushing the boundaries of spaceflight and expanding humanity’s reach into the cosmos.
As SpaceX looks towards the future, it continues to refine and upgrade its Starship rockets for upcoming missions. With Flight 5 marking a significant milestone in reusable rocket technology, SpaceX is poised to revolutionize space exploration and make bold strides towards a multiplanetary future. Stay tuned for more exciting developments from SpaceX as it advances towards its goal of making space accessible to all.
