At the flight director’s command, the first-stage booster flew back to the launch pad where it had blasted off seven minutes earlier. The launch tower’s monstrous metal arms, dubbed chopsticks, caught the descending 232-foot (71-meter) stainless steel booster and gripped it tightly, dangling it well above the ground.

SpaceX’s Starship had its fifth test launch in 18 months on Sunday morning and successfully caught a component of the rocket with mechanical arms near where it was launched in Texas, multiple outlets reported, marking a major milestone for Elon Musk’s aerospace company.

SpaceX has successfully launched and landed Starship, the spacecraft it hopes will allow it to carry humanity throughout the solar system. In an astonishing success, SpaceX used mechanical arms it refers to as “chopsticks” to catch its booster on the launchpad with the hope of reusing it.