Starship Flight 5 | Launch & Booster Catch Tracking

Sorry about the auto focus. I had never had issues before so the early lighting and engine lens flares must have made the camera freakout. I was unable to change it while recording but it got better on descent.
On Sunday October 13th, 2024 SpaceX launched Starship for the fifth test flight. This launch had the chance to include the most ambitious objects yet, catching the Super Heavy booster with the launch tower, provided that all systems checked out during the flight. A few minutes after liftoff, Booster 12 entered a glide that put it on a trajectory to intercept with the launch site. It then successfully completed the first ever catch of a rocket booster.

[@krypton13_56]

7:27 "BOOM BOOM" as a fucking skyscraper gets caught by a 150m robot is the most epic shit i've ever seen

[@jeffk1482]

Right?!?!? I’ve watched this launch & catch seemingly countless times now, and every time come away gobsmacked.

[@krypton13_56]

@@jeffk1482 i can't stop watching it's just unreal

[@marshalclarke5417]

Like the world announcing the nxt stage in human space flight with a drum

[@starshipman]

Me too, heart thumping still and every time

[@BokeFlyingSimulations]

Like someone else said in another video: look! A building catching another building in the air!

[@CorrieBergeron]

No commentary, no music, just like being there. Thank you.

[@slarti42uk]

This is firmly on my bucket list of things to see in person. Just an incredible feat of engineering of all kinds!!

[@Utoko]

In 2 years there is probably a start every 2 days. So it will be much easier to catch

[@cboy-ou2hr]

Agreed

[@sfguzmani]

@@Utoko Nah. It's better to watch it while still in the development. It's where the milestones and history happen.

[@jellybean7000]

Great animation as always Ryan! Cannot wait for Flight 5 in November😉 /s

[@dglm1966]

This is not an animation. I watched it live. "Can't tell if this is a joke or not so just gonna assume you just don't know. Hope I'm not having a r/woosh moment."

[@xaviersavedra711]

You meant flight 6, yes? It could even happen sooner, for they already have the license.

[@kevikiru]

​@@dglm1966 I think it is a compliment to Ryan about his amazing animation. He even made a wink emoji at the end.

[@hellfirestudios2.0]

I think they missed the launch yesterday lol

[@freyawildesciencefictionau8156]

@@dglm1966 retards everywhere.

[@badrinair]

What a great prespective. Zero percent animaltion. 100% reality . there was no other video that i could find which was start to finish shot from a single location. beautiful. THank you Rayan for sharing.

[@Kevin_850]

Yeah, seeing it from this perspective really emphasizes how hot and fast it comes down. The zoomed in shots don't do it justice when you have no frame of reference for the speed.

[@AlexViardo]

Def planning a trip with my son!

[@IamnotClarissaOakes]

Enjoyed the little "come onnnnn" when you had trouble getting the focus right :D That must have been a great day.

[@Nilmoy]

Focus can and must be set fixed to infinity. Just a camera setting, easy.

[@twincitiesaviator]

@@Nilmoyinfinity for all most all cameras isn’t exact, and takes painstaking fine tuning to get right. Most viewing sites for this launch are close enough that it isn’t even infinity that’s set. In my 4K tracking shot from rocket ranch, it was set to around 150m. My AX53 is fussy, and that’s what worked 🤷🏻‍♂️.

[@yanc3879]

Perfect timing for the sound travelled right at the moment when the booster landed, like celebrating with fireworks 🎉

[@_Mutineer]

Back in the 90's I attended a NASCAR race at Watkin's Glen. The sound of all of those massively powerful V8's firing up at the same time made me truly emotional. But the crackle of those 33 Raptors do the same for me even if it is only on video. I cannot imagine what it would be like to experience that in person, maybe some day. Massive congrats to SpaceX for this tremendous achievement, I saw the Moon Landing live when I was a kid, and this one is the most impressive space feat that I have seen since that magic time. And THANKS Ryan for your amazing content (now I know who "Jax" is on the CSI content and why he seems to be a subject matter expert). Cheers from Canada.

[@hellfirestudios2.0]

This footage just made it real for me, all the beefed up 4k footage makes it seem unreal. This brings it back to the layman 😅

[@claudevieaul1465]

All 4K out of focus. Nice ....

[@olivierl2172]

This is 4K footage.

[@darthbuzz1]

I have to say that this made this grown man cry.

[@worldstar907]

booster was looking like someone dropped a cigarette from the sky

[@robertanderson3029]

The Dan Aykroyd cigarette moment in Ghost Busters springs to mind 😅

[@Asterra2]

I watched a Japanese livestream of this and there were a lot of live comments saying exactly that. They also refer to Starship itself as a grilled squid when it's reentering.

[@dragonslayer7814]

If God smoked a cigarette and dropped it on earth it would look like that lol

[@TheCebulon]

Saw your forecast a view days ago. Was very acurate. What you forget to tell us was, how fast this will be done and over. The whole cath was not even 5 seconds. Did not expected it to be that seamless and straight forward. Had to watch it on .25 time serveral times to really grasp what happened.

[@MrQ-cr9ni]

I was there live. You have to remember, this video is about 6 miles away.... so the Boom Boom you hear at 7:27 is actually the sound of the rockets reigniting (what you see at 7:07) it just took about 20 seconds for the sound to reach us because it is so far away.

[@skillfulfighter23]

You also have to account that the actual sonic boom happened closer to the audience since the booster was lower to the ground. So the sound of the engines starting up and the sonic boom midburn might have overlapped.

[@ForestFelvey]

The landing rails don't even compress until after engine shutdown. The vertical accuracy was perfection, amongst other perfection.

[@corwinchristensen260]

Launch to CATCH in it's entirety ... Well done. Thank you

[@petersherratt]

Very accurate modelling of excited onlookers

[@gregbailey45]

Haha!

[@ИгорьПетров-з2т]

These clackers were recorded separately in the pavilion.

[@R33F3RMONSTER]

This masterfully demonstrates the beauty of the human spirit and human ingenuity. Truly incredible.

[@twincitiesaviator]

Kickass footage! My grandfather drove in from AZ to meet me for the launch. He had no idea they were going to catch it! Your breakdown video got him up to speed. Outstanding work.

[@donjones4719]

Your analysis and renders were spot on. There's a view from the tower of SH settling onto the arms and I completely understood what was happening. Because of this an unexplained miracle became an explained miracle.

[@StephanieB67]

Awesome video Ryan. The atmosphere of the crowd is amazing.

[@Ohjeezno]

Great shot! I can watch this over and over again 😊

[@fromaggiovagiola9128]

Are you into Chris Hanson?

[@gblawrence034]

When the sonic boom hits, you can see the grass in the lower left move

[@The_Holy_Moly]

Like I needed another excuse to watch the booster catch for the 30th time 😂. Cool observation, thanks!

[@dragonslayer7814]

I live about 80 miles from space x boca chica and it shook my house thats how loud it was.

[@neurostreams]

those sonic booms in that dramatic moment of the catch 😵‍💫 amazing shots, and audio hits. felt like i was there

[@Caspar_Stanley]

Got chills dude, there's just something about watching that wide view and with an incredible crowd reaction in your ears... Great tracking!

[@chrisblevins4502]

Thank you Thank you Thank you! for this EXCELLENT video. I really appreciate the ground and up close perspective. Keep up the OUTSTANDING work!

[@freyawildesciencefictionau8156]

HISTORICAL !!! Beautiful !!

[@c016smith52]

Great video Ryan, watched again this morning and thought... "I should watch the every morning" so inspiring, thanks!!

[@alexanderbeck5998]

Amazing stuff, hope I can catch a launch like that once in my life 🤩

[@TEVIDEOS]

I like the calm, "They did it... They did it..." 😅👌 Awesome footage! SpaceX to the 🌙

[@BusstterNutt]

Thank you for all the hard work in making these excellent videos.

[@Grandremone]

One of the best videos wow, had tears in my eyes!!!

[@pgs1796]

Catching the booster which was coming in like a bat out of hell has to be of the most gobsmacking things I have ever seen. If they can replicate this reliably then we are really at the races.

[@DavidStruveDesigns]

The fact you were at the PERFECT distance so that the sonic booms hit you RIGHT as the tower caught the booster made this footage SO MUCH MORE EPIC!!!! It's as if the booster itself was saying "WATCH. THIS." to you as it got caught 😁

[@S1nwar]

8:07 a rather faint sonic boom of the hotstagering

[@turbofan450]

That’s wild!

[@habla72]

The biggest & best firework display I’ve ever seen. Well done SpaceX 👍

[@dglm1966]

Watched live. Amazing flight. Booster catch was sick!

[@charlescook4975]

I can see my bald head in the crowd at the bottom right corner of the screen at the end. Thanks for the video that was an amazing day.

[@dannyoreilly8540]

Truly something else!! Even now, I still can't believe they did it!! Well done Ryan 👏 🙂

[@richardcoo69]

Spectacular! OMFG!!!

[@fadeltoure]

At this level of engineering precision, it’s a magic!

[@Zerostar369]

I could watch it 100 x but I still cant believe it!

[@caseydbani1419]

Great capture of the event! Love the ambient audio! This is history! And totally smooth like your fascinating animations :-)

[@Sir_Uncle_Ned]

The largest and most powerful rocket stage ever made plucked out of the air like it was a feather. I genuinely had to pinch myself when it happened because they absolutely nailed it on the first try.

[@dennisvanmierlo]

Always amazing to see this huge rocket take off. It must be vvery impressive to see this in person. Regarding the video, set the focus to manual. Because the background (sky) has no contrast, it hunts to stay in focus.

[@palyze]

loved that u kept the camera rolling for a while after catch. it let me soak in the moment a bit more, like i was there. can't imagine experiencing this live. good stuff ryan, and keep up the great animations!

[@vanitusprefect9168]

Simply amazing footage. Thank you Ryan.

[@pixelwash9707]

Thanks for posting this, ignore the hater.

[@oldmanstumpie1061]

Nice work. I love the long view, really gives perspective to the whole event.

[@victorrios8226]

It was amazing and the first time in the world ....terrific work Space X....👏👏👏👏

[@stinkintoad]

I could watch this a thousand times.

[@TheSpaceflightGuy]

Fantastic track! Great reactions and audio in the back too!

[@fingergunpewpew760]

Saw you guys set up with your tracking cameras, I thought of saying hi but I didn't want to interrupt this insane footage you caputred! Great work!

[@andywarwick3745]

F ing WOW! EPIC SHOOTING THERE! That was absolutely insane. I preferred this to Space X's live stream made the hairs stand up on my arms plugged in my sub and watched again. BOOM BOOOM! Well done perfect KZbin video 💯❤

[@vanillaphyl4381]

Best view Ryan, thank you, thank you, i❤it…!😊

[@grogman1911]

Excellent catch! Darn autofocus. Thank you for catching the moment.👍🏼

[@iwayini]

Thank you Ryan. I think you can ditch the auto focus next time. Great to catch the crowds reactions. Greetings from the Uk.

[@stevedemarest276]

Thank the spectacular weather. Great work Ryan!

[@claudevieaul1465]

Manual focus ftw.

[@scoremat]

This is a demonstration of when they tell kids "you can do anything that you put your mind to" Just amazing 👏

[@sl0rion]

Amazing footage, thanks for doing this!

[@davidfellowes1628]

Great capture. Puts the icing on the cake for you. Thanks

[@kavorka8855]

Remember, that booster is 23-story high, 232 feet!

[@deafpv4317]

Just think in the future this will be almost an everyday event! Crazy!

[@perrymaskell3508]

The animations were awesome, but the real was so much more aggressive, loud and smokey. That blew me away.

[@NadineLynch10]

It’s real! I witnessed it live on KZbin

[@Marc_Gagne]

I'm looking forward to your next excellent video featuring Tower B and its Launch Mount.

[@hdzavalanche]

It’s amazing how loud it is at that distance! If it took 33 seconds for the sound to reach them, and if it takes sound 4.7 seconds to travel a mile (at STP), then this is what it sounds like from 7 miles away. (!)

[@Scaliad]

You nailed it, Ryan! The perfect animation... real life!

[@moonasha]

serious photography question; why didn't you just set the focus to infinity so there's no AF BS? Is that not an option with these sorts of telescopic lenses? Like it would be out of focus? my only experience is with smaller lenses

[@m_jackson]

If someone who tries to make money and fame from photography, they should know what the hyperfocal distance is

[@longcat]

the sonic booms arriving as the tower catches the booster x yeeeeeaaaah x

[@AthanImmortal]

Thanks for uploading this perspective, fantastic!

[@codefeenix]

Fantastic view, I am jealous!

[@toufichusseini885]

Excellent shot !! Well done !!

[@SgtNantz]

Insane footage. How do you feel your animation has come to life?

[@TheNei]

unbelievable!! Congratulations!!

[@Moe_roNs]

i think the double sonic boom is a great symbolization of the achievement here when compared to falcon 9. falcon has a triple sonic boom, one from the engine section, one from the landing legs, and one from the gridfins. that double boom without the landing legs symbolizes progress in my mind

[@BokeFlyingSimulations]

I hear a triple boom, like in the falcon 9, but this one does not have legs...so maybe engines, engine bay and grid fins?

[@tribemayamex]

Two knobs had to be aligned with the arms to hold it. Amazing precision.

[@affalaffaa]

Epic camera work. Amazes me how late the engine is fired to land.

[@fullsenderman8291]

Thank you truly for these amazing videos

[@Nilmoy]

Focus can and must be set fixed to infinity. Just a camera setting, easy.

[@dannyrvideo]

Amazing footage!!!!! Keep it up 🙂

[@thelmarobles4870]

BEST VIDEO I EVER WATCHED💖💖💖

[@edmund2j]

Thank you for sharing the awesome vid. Subbed.

[@Yonex333]

So Unreal, seen this 100x

[@ben1techie]

I love your work!

[@rockjano]

Amazing Ryan. Thank You!!! What camera??? Autofocus should not be used I think under theses circumstances. It is OK to find the thing with it but after that go manual. If you don't zoom much focus should be OK for the entire descent...

[@BrewCityChaser]

Excellent video and tracking.

[@bmoore8853]

I want to see that booster launch again. :-)

[@bueb8674]

I knew the booster was coming in hot, but while watching, 40km to 1km felt like 2 seconds

[@Zacharysharkhazard]

It hits that lower atmosphere like a brick wall, and affirms the use of stainless steel as those are some serious pressures and forces acting on the booster. Not sure if a carbon fiber build would hold up so well.

[@Sir_Uncle_Ned]

You could see the engine section glowing before the landing burn starts. That’s not from the boostback; That’s the atmosphere slamming the brakes on this leviathan punching through

[@user-ju6gb5yb5q]

​@@Zacharysharkhazardcarbon fibre would have turned into a paste

[@cboy-ou2hr]

We’re seeing history but witnessing the future

[@mathewherges397]

Nice! Great capture!

[@craigevans8912]

Great footage 🫡

[@MrJPI]

Wonderful!!! Thanks a lot.

[@MSA]

Ryan you do so much for us

[@jasonmoore170]

My God that thing came in fast!!!

[@ssshady08]

That was EPIC!

[@ebenwaterman5858]

I love the nature background. :)

[@anthonydaxis1209]

Great video, but a new kind of focus-breathing exercise? JK - yours is among the absolute best footage of this amazing historical event and very much appreciated!

[@linkinterteid]

Я искренне рад за Илона! И всю его команду!

[@caldodge]

Our Kodak had that same problem with focusing on the tower from our vantage point at Isla Blanca Park.

[@caldodge]

Thanks to the time of launch, we could see Super Heavy throughout the entire flight, even at almost 60 miles up. I hadn't expected (though I should have) that I would need to crank my head back and look straight up for a few minutes.