SpaceX wants to try catching its Starship spacecraft with giant mechanical tower arms during its next test flight.
The ambition follows a key mission where the giant rocket successfully blasted off and completed a controlled landing in the ocean. Following the flight data review, CEO Elon Musk shared the next big milestone.
“Unless we discover problems after mission data review, SpaceX will attempt to catch the ship with the tower on next flight,” Musk said in a post on X.
The spacecraft was launched on its 13th test mission, reaching space and deploying 20 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites before falling back to Earth for a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The vehicle stayed completely intact after hitting the water, allowing onboard cameras to send back clear video footage. Seeing the heat shields intact was pretty cool.
SpaceX has already caught the lower Super Heavy booster using the massive metal arms at its launch pad in Starbase, Texas. Catching both parts of the rocket in mid-air is crucial for the company, as it aims to rapidly reuse vehicles and lower the overall cost of space travel.
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