Elon Musk’s Starship rocket has completed a world first after part of it was captured on its return to the launch pad. The SpaceX vehicle's lower half manoeuvred back beside its launch tower where it was caught in a giant pair of mechanical arms, as part of its fifth test flight.

His company SpaceX pulled off an engineering marvel on Sunday, when it launched the largest, most powerful rocket in the world — and on the first try, caught the 23-story-tall booster in midair using chopstick-like mechanical arms. The feat was unique in the history of spaceflight, and duly impressed both government officials and aerospace experts.