SpaceX plans first Starship upper-stage catch on flight 15
The company intends to use its launch tower’s arms to retrieve the Ship, extending a method previously used for the Super Heavy booster.
SpaceX intends to retrieve Starship’s two stages during its 15th test flight, Elon Musk said on a company earnings call streamed on X. The mission would mark its first attempt to catch the upper stage, known as the Ship, alongside the Super Heavy booster.
A simulation shown during the call depicted the Ship being caught by the launch tower’s “chopstick” arms. SpaceX has previously used those arms to capture Super Heavy, but neither stage was caught during flight 14; both landed in the ocean.
The Ship reaches greater heights, travels farther and moves faster than the booster. During flight 14, it was intended to orbit Earth for 10 hours, but an engine malfunction forced SpaceX to shorten the mission. Its return still took hours, compared with the booster’s return within minutes of launch.
SpaceX’s goal is an orbital vehicle that can be reused fully and rapidly for deep-space missions. Starship was designed to transport people and cargo to the moon and Mars.
