SpaceX Plans First Catch of Starship Upper Stage

SpaceX aims to launch Starship’s 14th test flight later this month, sending the first batch of upgraded Starlink V3 satellites into orbit and attempting to recover the rocket’s upper stage on land for the first time.

The company plans to catch the returning stage with giant mechanical arms attached to its launch tower in Texas. Chief executive Elon Musk said both the timing of the mission and the recovery attempt depend on regulatory approval.

A successful catch would mark a major step toward SpaceX’s goal of creating a fully reusable orbital launch system, allowing more frequent launches and a rapid expansion of the Starlink network.

NASA will also be watching closely, as it plans to use a modified version of Starship as a lunar lander.

Musk said Starship’s launch frequency would increase rapidly and predicted that SpaceX could be conducting at least one flight a day within about a year.

(Reuters, mja)