SpaceX retrieves ocean-landed Starship rocket off Christmas Island
SpaceX has released footage showing its Starship Flight 13 rocket landing in the Indian Ocean west of Australia. The rocket was recovered off Christmas Island nearly four weeks after splashing down.
SpaceX has released streamed footage capturing the moment its 52-metre Starship rocket touched down in the Indian Ocean during the vehicle's 13th test flight.
The rocket, developed under Elon Musk's SpaceX programme, splashed down in the ocean west of Australia on 24 July. Its recovery, however, took considerably longer.
Nearly four weeks after landing, the rocket was located and retrieved off the coast of Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean.
Starship is central to SpaceX's efforts to build a reusable heavy-lift launch system. The released footage documents the vehicle's ocean landing during this particular test flight, and its eventual recovery shows the craft remained largely intact after splashdown, allowing it to be found and pulled from the water weeks later.
