SpaceX will try to catch both Starship stages on next flight
SpaceX will try to catch both parts of its giant Starship rocket on its next test flight, Ars Technica, SpaceNews and Aviation Week reported. The flight is aimed for November, pending approval from regulators. Elon Musk said success is "more likely than not."
SpaceX will try to catch both parts of its huge Starship rocket on its next test flight, according to Ars Technica, SpaceNews and Aviation Week. The flight is aimed for November.
Elon Musk, the company's founder, shared the plan on an earnings call with investors on Tuesday, October 20, Ars Technica and Aviation Week reported.
Starship has two stages. The bottom one, called Super Heavy, is a booster. The top one is the Starship ship itself. SpaceX wants to catch both at Starbase, its launch site in South Texas, Ars Technica reported.
SpaceX has caught Super Heavy boosters three times before with a pair of mechanical arms on the launch tower, Aviation Week reported. But it has never tried with the newer version of the booster. None of the Starship upper stages has ever come back to the launch site.
"If we succeed, it will be the first time that an orbital launch vehicle has been fully recovered," Musk said, according to Aviation Week. "This is a massive technology milestone."
Musk said success is "more likely than not," Ars Technica and Aviation Week reported. If the catches fail, the company has plenty of hardware to try again, Ars Technica said.
The plan still needs approval from regulators, SpaceNews reported. To get back to Starbase, the upper stage must fly over land, including northern Mexico, Ars Technica said. Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's president, said the company expects its license from the FAA to allow both catches.
The last test flight, on September 28, mostly went well despite engine issues, Ars Technica reported. That flight ended in a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, Aviation Week said.
SpaceX wants to launch Starship weekly in the first half of 2027, Aviation Week reported. It hopes to fly at least twice a week by the end of that year.
The company now focuses on artificial intelligence, Ars Technica reported. Its plans for data services from space still rely on Starship.
What we know: SpaceX plans to try catching both Starship stages on Flight 15 in November.
What we don't: Whether regulators will approve the plan in time.
Where outlets agree Ars Technica, SpaceNews and Aviation Week report that SpaceX plans to try recovering both Starship stages on its next test flight, aimed for November.
Where they differ The cited reports agree on the key facts so far.