Science & Tech · Space · 1 hr ago
SpaceX to attempt catching both Starship stages on next test flight
SpaceX plans to try catching Starship and its booster next month during the rocket’s next test flight.
Starship has two parts: the Super Heavy booster, which lifts it, and the Ship spacecraft, which continues into space.
The company’s launch tower uses mechanical arms, nicknamed “chopsticks,” to catch returning vehicles.
SpaceX has caught the booster three times, but has never caught the Ship spacecraft.
On the previous test flight, Ship reached orbit for the first time, but both stages ended in the sea and neither was recovered.
Catching both stages would fully recover an orbital launch vehicle for the first time, and could let SpaceX inspect, prepare and fly Starship again more quickly.
Musk said success is not guaranteed; if the attempt fails, SpaceX plans more test flights through the end of the year, with flights expected to increase next year.
SpaceX plans to try to catch both stages of its Starship rocket on the vehicle’s next test flight, targeted for next month.
The attempt would aim to recover the entire orbital launch system for the first time.
Elon Musk said success was more likely than not but not guaranteed.
SpaceX has caught the Super Heavy booster on three test flights but has not yet attempted to catch the Starship upper stage.
The announcement came during SpaceX’s third-quarter earnings call on Oct. 20.
- Who
- SpaceX, whose founder and CEO is Elon Musk.
- What
- The company plans to attempt to catch both Starship stages and recover the entire launch system.
- When
- The next test flight is targeted for next month; a specific date was not stated.
- Where
- At the launch tower, where the stages are designed to return for capture.
- Why
- SpaceX aims to recover and reuse the rocket stages, which Musk said could enable sustained activity beyond Earth.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Starship Flight 14 reached orbit for the first time and deployed 26 Starlink Version 3 satellites.
Musk announced during SpaceX’s third-quarter earnings call that the next test flight would attempt to catch both stages.
SpaceX is targeting the next Starship test flight, which would attempt the double catch.
- Next flight
- Targeted for next month
- Starship test flights
- 14 completed to date
- Super Heavy catches
- Three successful catches on earlier test flights
- Flight 14
- Reached orbit and deployed 26 Starlink Version 3 satellites
- Starship height
- More than 400 feet (122 meters) when fully stacked
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What people are saying
I'd say it's more likely than not that this succeeds next flight
Success is not guaranteed on these first flights, but I’d say it’s more likely than not that this succeeds next flight
The only way that we can extend consciousness beyond Earth on a sustained basis is with a fully reusable orbital launch vehicle.