SpaceX abandons attempt to catch Starship rocket's lower stage, but may still try to catch the upper stage
The rocket's upper stage continues its flight into space.
Photo: Tim Warner/Getty Images
SpaceX has abandoned the attempt to catch the lower stage of the Starship rocket during its latest test flight, the BBC reports.
The lower stage was planned to be caught using mechanical arms on the launch tower, which many have compared to chopsticks. Instead, the stage was diverted into the ocean, where it splashed down.
The rocket's upper stage continues its flight into space.
SpaceX will make a decision on whether it will attempt to catch it at around 15:15 local time (23:15 Minsk time) on Saturday.
This is the first attempt to fully recover both stages of the Starship rocket. According to the designers' vision, they will be reusable, thereby lowering launch costs.
The 124-meter-tall rocket successfully lifted off from the Starbase launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, at 22:45 GMT on Friday.
The launch was broadcast live. Addressing the decision to forgo the attempt to catch the lower stage, a SpaceX representative stated: "Safety is always the number one priority. When we test things we haven't done before, our priority is making sure every maneuver can be executed safely."
Starship's upper stage is set to deploy 26 satellites into orbit to expand the Starlink constellation. It will orbit the Earth 14 times and return 22.5 hours after launch.
At that stage, an attempt may be made to catch it using the mechanical arms on the launch tower (a decision will be made later).
During the three previous launches, SpaceX managed to catch the lower stage. Until now, the upper stage has always splashed down into the ocean.
SpaceX has long aimed to build a fully reusable rocket. The Falcon 9 rocket features a reusable lower stage. That rocket is launched over 100 times a year, and reusing boosters has significantly reduced costs.
Cost reductions are being closely monitored by SpaceX shareholders—the company went public this year—as well as NASA.
Starship's success will directly affect NASA's plans to land humans on the Moon in 2028. This is a very ambitious timeline.
Meanwhile, SpaceX faces competition from billionaire Jeff Bezos's company Blue Origin, which has also been awarded a NASA contract to develop a lunar landing vehicle.
NASA is pursuing such ambitious deadlines due to rivalry with China, which plans to land its taikonauts on the Moon by 2030, according to agency administrator Jared Isaacman.