On the night of October 14th, the new generation heavy launch vehicle 'Starship' by SpaceX in the USA successfully completed its fifth test launch.

The live broadcast showed the 71-meter long, 9-meter diameter 'super heavy' booster separating from the spacecraft at an altitude of about 74 kilometers, being captured and recovered by the ground launchpad's machinery arm, achieving the feat of 'chopstick-catching rocket' on the first attempt.

SpaceX Communications Manager Dan Huot said in the live broadcast, 'Are you kidding me? What we just witnessed is like magic.' 'Even in this technologically advanced age, everything that just happened is still unbelievable, I'm shaking all over.'

During the live broadcast, cheers erupted at SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Engineer Kate Tice said, 'This is a day that will go down in the history of engineering.' Engineer Jessie Anderson said, 'I still can't believe it, I'm trying hard to hold back tears, just like chopsticks holding the booster.'

After the successful splashdown of the Starship spacecraft in the Indian Ocean, company founder Elon Musk posted on the social media platform X, 'The spaceship landed precisely! Achieving the second of two objectives.' He added, 'Today, mankind takes a big step towards interplanetary life.'

Bill Nelson, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), congratulated SpaceX on the successful booster capture and fifth Starship flight test in a post, 'Congratulations on SpaceX successfully completing the booster capture and the fifth Starship flight test.'

Nelson also added, 'As we prepare to return to the Moon under Artemis' leadership, continued testing will prepare us for bold future missions – including going to the lunar South Pole and then on to Mars.'

The starship is a reusable, reusable space transportation system, SpaceX said that the successful attempt will greatly reduce the future cost of space production. Analysis points out that this will boost public confidence in Musk's "manned Mars exploration mission within 4 years" plan.

A study by the Pew Research Center in the usa in 2023 found that most respondents (69%) believe that maintaining America's leadership in space is very important; 47% believe that SpaceX "has performed well overall and made significant contributions to space exploration".

Bringing subtle changes to the usa election

With just over 20 days left until the official usa election on November 5th, SpaceX's successful test flight may cause subtle changes in the election results. Because recently, Musk has been getting closer to Republican presidential candidate Trump.

Analysis believes that although Musk does not fully represent the entire Silicon Valley, his significant influence in space exploration, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, and other fields is expected to empower Trump to attract important industry leaders in promoting innovation and technological development.

Musk has publicly stated that he will fully support Trump's presidential campaign. At a rally a week ago, Musk wore a black "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) hat, openly expressing support for Trump.

Overnight, former usa President Trump praised "his friend" Musk at a rally, saying, "Have you seen how that thing (referring to the Starship booster) landed today? It just needs a repaint. This is much cheaper than building a new one."

Meanwhile, usa President Biden and Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris did not mention the starship on social media, with their tweets focusing more on disaster relief efforts after Hurricane "Milton".

Although many mainstream media in the USA have praised SpaceX's latest success, there is little mention of Musk's political stance in the reports.

It is worth mentioning that unlike the previous four test launches, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the timing of this test flight the day before the flight. This means that the interval between SpaceX obtaining permission and the actual launch did not exceed 48 hours.

Earlier last week, the California Coastal Commission, which belongs to the California state government, rejected SpaceX's application to increase the number of annual rocket launch missions due to the disruptive sonic booms caused during rocket launches that disturb community life and impact the environment.

Editor/ping