3 ways SpaceX’s “chopsticks” tie into making multiplanetary transport possible!

The fastest way to turn public sentiment in your favour might just be pulling off the sort of engineering marvel the world has never seen before and casually making history — because the internet cannot stop talking about Elon Musk and his “chopsticks”.

In case you don’t know what we’re talking about, SpaceX recently “caught” its massive, 15-storey tall Super Heavy rocket Booster as it approached Earth using mechanical arms — the chopsticks in question. After its launch in Texas, the booster returned to pad just 7 minutes later and neatly fell into the tower’s arms.These massive mechanical arms on the launch tower were designed to catch the rocket booster mid-air as it returned to the launch pad, rather than letting it crash into the ground or splash into the ocean. Might we add, this was a test flight that was a part of Elon Musk’s efforts to make the Starship system fully reusable and they got it right in the first try!

Meanwhile, the Starship rocket, which flew to more than 130 miles in altitude, also successfully completed a controlled descent into the Indian Ocean. SpaceX intends on finding ways to make that reusable as well. And as Elon himself said, this is an important step towards making multiplanetary travel possible — something the man’s been talking about for years.But as mind-numbingly cool as this entire event was, how exactly do these chopsticks tie into the multiplanetary transport goal — and also potentially alter the course of human history?

Boosting reusability and good ol’ cost-cutting

Sending a rocket to space and having it come back usually means that it's going to splash down in water or worse — hard-land. Traditionally, rockets are either destroyed after use or land in the ocean, requiring complex recovery operations. By catching the rocket more gently using the chopstick manoeuvre, the rocket booster experiences less damage and can be refurbished and reused more quickly and with fewer repairs.

This brings us to the other important barrier in making interplanetary travel a thing: how insanely expensive it is. SpaceX's goal is to make space travel affordable and efficient by reusing rockets instead of discarding them after each launch. Fully reusable rockets drastically reduce the costs of launching payloads into space, making regular space missions more feasible. By catching and reusing the massive Super Heavy boosters, SpaceX can slash the costs associated with building new rockets for every mission.

Not to mention, it would also help cut costs if we didn’t need to go fetch the booster back from remote landing sites.

More efficient and frequent launches!

Apart from the cost aspect of it, the ability to catch and reuse these massive boosters directly at the launch site means SpaceX can streamline the whole launch process as it eliminates the need to transport the boosters back. Reusability also means that SpaceX can shorten the time between launches, allowing for more frequent spaceflights. This would also save time and resources, making space missions more practical and sustainable for the long haul.

This means the company can launch more often, potentially sending supplies, habitats, and crew to the Moon or Mars on a regular basis. For humanity to survive and thrive on another planet, we’ll need a reliable and consistent flow of resources. The "Chopsticks" help create a logistical system where rockets can be prepped and launched frequently, something critical for long-term colonisation.

Scaling up for deep space missions

The Super Heavy booster that the "Chopsticks" caught isn’t just any rocket — it’s the most powerful ever built. Starship, the spacecraft designed to ride atop this booster, is intended to carry massive payloads, including people and cargo, on interplanetary missions. The ability to catch and reuse such a large rocket is a technical leap that will make future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond more feasible.

However, safely recovering and reusing these enormous boosters is a technical challenge that SpaceX needs to master if it hopes to send frequent missions to Mars. With each test flight, SpaceX refines the technology that will one day send astronauts to colonise other planets. And by developing this technology, SpaceX is paving the way for the continuous, cost-effective supply chain necessary to support human colonies on other planets.