SpaceX will attempt to catch the Starship spacecraft and its booster next month. The company intends to recover the entire orbital launch system for the first time.
Elon Musk described the upcoming mission as a "profound technology milestone in the history of civilization consciousness." Musk added, "Success is not guaranteed on these first flights, but I’d say it’s more likely than not that this succeeds next flight."
A steady stream of Starship flight attempts is scheduled through the end of 2026. The Starship is a two-stage system consisting of the Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy booster.
Standing approximately 120 metres tall, the vehicle has a diameter of 9 metres. Raptor engines powered by liquid methane and liquid oxygen drive the craft.
First introduced in 2018, the system was designed to return to the launch site. Launch towers use mechanical "chopstick" arms to catch the vehicle mid-air.
Last month's launch sent the spacecraft into Earth orbit and inserted a few dozen V3 satellites into the Starlink constellation. During that ascent, one Raptor engine shut down prematurely.
SpaceX cut the planned 10-hour mission short after about 3 hours and 2 Earth orbits. Neither piece was recovered from last month's launch.
