SpaceX aims to recover both stages of its Starship megarocket on the next test flight, expected in November. Elon Musk described the attempt as a potential milestone for fully reusable orbital vehicles.
01Summary
- 01SpaceX will try to catch the Super Heavy booster and Ship spacecraft with its launch tower's 'chopstick' arms during Flight 15, expected next month.
- 02Musk said during the Q3 earnings call on Oct. 20 that success would mark the first full recovery of an orbital launch vehicle.
- 03Starship stands over 400 feet tall when fully stacked; both stages are designed for rapid reusability.
- 04The company has performed 14 Starship test flights to date, successfully catching Super Heavy on three occasions but never attempting a Ship catch.
- 05SpaceX reported Q3 revenue of $14.6 billion, a 161% increase from a year earlier, with most revenue coming from connectivity and AI services.
02Why it matters
If successful, this would demonstrate full reusability for the largest rocket ever built, potentially lowering launch costs and accelerating plans for Mars settlement and massive satellite deployments.
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