While “The Simpsons” is famed for its eerie ability to predict future events, it seems “Young Sheldon” has now entered the same realm of prophetic television. In a particular scene from the show, young Sheldon explains complex rocket landing maneuvers—years before SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, accomplished a strikingly similar feat.
In the episode, Sheldon describes how a rocket could be flipped and landed using a PID controller, but the doctor he’s speaking with dismisses it as a theoretical concept, stating that the technology simply doesn’t exist to execute it.Sheldon confidently replies, “So I’m ahead of my time.” The show also pokes fun at Elon Musk, showing him stealing ideas from a book by young Sheldon and passing them off as his own.
When Elon Musk Reads Sheldon’s Notes | Young Sheldon [FullHD] @musicabae5675
Fast forward to reality, and SpaceX has indeed caught up with Sheldon’s visionary explanation. On Sunday, SpaceX achieved a significant breakthrough by successfully catching the booster of its Starship rocket using mechanical arms, a move SpaceX CEO Elon Musk called “science fiction without the fiction part.” The booster, after launching from Texas, was deftly caught by the metal arms dubbed “chopsticks” attached to the launch tower. The achievement marks a critical milestone in Musk’s ambitious plan to make humanity a multiplanetary species.
Elon Musk took to X, formerly Twitter, exclaiming, “The tower has caught the rocket!! Big step towards making life multiplanetary was made today.” The accomplishment triggered celebrations at SpaceX headquarters and NASA, with SpaceX employees cheering as the booster was secured.
Much like Sheldon’s theoretical vision in “Young Sheldon,” SpaceX’s success in catching its booster represents a leap in engineering. Musk’s vision for reusable rockets has become a reality, paving the way for future missions to the moon and Mars.