SpaceX plans first attempt to catch both stages of Starship rocket

SpaceX is preparing to attempt the first recovery of both stages of its Starship rocket, a test that could advance the company’s push to make the vehicle reusable and support Nasa’s plans for a crewed Moon landing.

The 124m rocket is scheduled to launch from Starbase, Texas, at 16:45 local time on Friday, with a 75-minute launch window. About six and a half minutes after liftoff, SpaceX plans to use the mechanical arms on the launch tower to catch the returning Super Heavy booster.

The Ship, Starship’s upper stage, is then due to travel into space, deploy 26 Starlink satellites and complete 14 orbits before returning for a second catch attempt about 22 and a half hours after launch. SpaceX says it will decide whether to attempt that catch after assessing the vehicle in space; if it detects problems, it can direct the Ship to splash down in the ocean instead.

The company has caught the Super Heavy booster three times on earlier test flights, but has not yet caught the upper stage. That stage first reached orbit in September and has so far splashed down at sea. In that earlier test, it returned to the Pacific after about three hours, despite a planned flight of about 10 hours. Starship’s earlier orbit test therefore marked a milestone, but did not demonstrate a full recovery.

A successful double catch would be the first full recovery of a rocket that has been to space, according to the BBC. SpaceX says its long-term aim is to make Starship reusable, potentially allowing it to fly repeatedly. Prof Malcolm Macdonald, president of the Royal Aeronautical Society, said a successful catch could change the economics of access to space, while cautioning that one successful flight would not prove the case for full reusability.

The flight is also significant for Nasa’s Artemis programme. SpaceX has a contract to develop Starship as a lunar lander, and the company’s progress has implications for Nasa’s plans to return astronauts to the Moon. The BBC reports that the agency is targeting a human lunar landing in 2028, while Artemis III is currently planned for summer 2027.