SpaceX catches giant Starship booster in fifth flight test

(Reuters) – SpaceX launched its giant Starship rocket on Sunday from Texas in a fifth test flight poised to feature the company’s first attempt at bringing the rocket’s towering first stage booster back to land using huge robotic arms.

The rocket’s Super Heavy first stage booster lifted at 7:25 a.m. CT (12:25 GMT) from SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas launch facilities, sending the second stage Starship rocket on a path in space bound for the Indian Ocean west of Australia, where it will attempt atmospheric reentry followed by a water landing.

The Super Heavy booster, after separating from the Starship booster some 74 km (46 miles) in altitude, is poised to return to the same spot from which it was launched for a landing attempt, aided by two robotic arms attached to the launch tower.