Live Updates: SpaceX will launch Starship test flight 5

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lands upright in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship in April 2016.

SpaceX has always placed great emphasis on reusing rocket parts.

Landing boosters post-flight is a feat SpaceX has mastered with its smaller work rocket, the Falcon 9.

In fact, after more than 330 launches, Falcon 9 launch vehicles performed soft landings on sea platforms or ground platforms, allowing these vehicles to be overhauled and flown again. SpaceX says this has reduced costs, allowing the company to undervalue the rest of the rocket market.

The Falcon 9 launch vehicles land by re-firing their engines after separating from the second stage, or upper portion, of the rocket (which continues into space carrying satellites or astronauts). The booster then steers itself back to a platform at sea or on land.

Shortly before landing, the Falcon 9 restarts its engines – essentially using this power as a braking system.

Starship is now a far more powerful and complex system than Falcon 9.

With 33 engines at the base, each more powerful than any of the nine engines used in the Falcon, the Super Heavy booster provides approximately ten times the thrust at launch.

Instead of putting Super Heavy on legs, it is guided back to a massive tower with two “chopstick” arms that attempt to catch the booster as it comes to land.