GoKawiilSpaceX aims to catch Starship's upper stage for first time on Flight 15
Elon Musk announced during SpaceX's earnings call that the company plans to attempt catching both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage, known as 'Ship,' using the launch tower's mechanical arms on the vehicle's next test flight, possibly as early as next month. SpaceX shared a simulation video showing how the catch would work, marking the first attempt to recover the upper stage rather than let it splash into the ocean as in previous flights.
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Successfully catching the upper stage would mark a major milestone toward SpaceX's goal of making Starship fully and rapidly reusable, a capability the company says is essential for crewed missions to the Moon and Mars. The attempt is riskier than catching the booster since the upper stage travels faster, higher and farther, and past flights have shown technical issues such as engine malfunctions that cut missions short.
- SpaceX plans to catch both Starship stages on its 15th flight test, possibly next month.
- The upper stage, or 'Ship,' has never been caught before, unlike the Super Heavy booster.
- Full reusability of both stages is seen as key to SpaceX's deep space ambitions for the Moon and Mars.
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Published there as: “Here's how SpaceX plans to catch Starship's upper stage for the first time”
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