Following Sunday’s successful catch of Starship’s first-stage Super Heavy booster—aided by a pair of huge mechanical “chopsticks”—SpaceX founder Elon Musk says the company is targeting a similar maneuver for Starship’s upper stage sometime next year.
SpaceX plans Starship upper stage catch next year
The historic moment on Sunday was the first time a large rocket has ever been caught midair, leading to euphoric cheers from the SpaceX team. It happened during Starship’s 5th test flight and was the first time the company had attempted such a maneuver, sticking the landing at the very first attempt.
Photo: luckyluke007 | Shutterstock
Responding to a post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk said the company plans to “catch the ship too” early next year, referring to Starship’s upper stage, the spacecraft segment that separates from the Super Heavy booster. During Sunday’s flight test, this portion of Starship splashed down successfully in the Indian Ocean, but SpaceX is now planning for it to also be caught by “Mechazilla” using its two mechanical arms, or chopsticks.
Using Mechazilla helps SpaceX to reduce costs and speed up its refurbishment process to make the rocket ready for launch again. It also eliminates the need for rockets to be equipped with landing legs, which add extra weight and thus reduce overall payload capacity.
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In a world first, the Starship’s 250-ton booster was caught as it returned to its platform.
Another engineering marvel?
While equal in diameter, Starship is shorter and lighter than Super Heavy, but it will still be an extremely challenging feat to successfully catch the spaceship. Unlike Super Heavy’s 33 Raptor engines, Starship is powered by six engines – three Raptors and three Raptor Vacuum engines.
|
Specs |
Super Heavy |
Starship |
|---|---|---|
|
Height |
71 m (233 ft) |
50.3 m (165 ft) |
|
Diameter |
9 m (30 ft) |
9 m (30 ft) |
|
Gross Mass |
3,675,000 kg |
1,300,000 kg |
|
Empty Mass |
250,000 kg |
~100,000 kg |
With SpaceX incorporating improvements to Starship’s heat-resistant tiles, the spacecraft reportedly suffered minimal wear and tear during its re-entry. During its last test flight in June, Starship lost multiple tiles and suffered damage to a flap, but successfully survived the re-entry and landed in the Indian Ocean.
Regarding the most recent flight test, Musk said that “a few outer engine nozzles are warped from heating” but it is something that can easily be addressed. He added that the ultimate aim is to have Super Heavy boosters achieve re-flight “within an hour after liftoff” by reloading them with propellant and attaching another ship to the top, enabling efficient turnaround times and more launches.
Flight Test 6 coming soon
SpaceX’s next test flight with Starship will be the spacecraft’s 6th and is scheduled to happen next year. The company has not yet released firm details on the test’s flight profile, but Musk’s comments suggest a Starship upper stage catch will be attempted.
The flight will involve Starship Ship 31, which has already completed a successful engine static fire test. The launch will take place out of SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
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