‘SpaceX may lose Starship after failed recovery attempt at sea’: Elon Musk

Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, has expressed concerns that the company may lose its Starship upper stage after a failed recovery attempt at sea. The 171-foot Starship upper stage, referred to as Ship, floated in the Indian Ocean following its suborbital test flight on July 24. Unlike previous attempts, this particular upper stage remained intact upon landing and continued to drift in the ocean.

SpaceX has been working diligently to tow the spacecraft back to shore for inspection, but rough seas and challenging recovery conditions have made the operation difficult. On August 7, Musk stated on X, "Unfortunately, ship recovery is not looking good right now." Despite these setbacks, SpaceX has managed to capture valuable close-up images of critical areas of the spacecraft, including the heat shield and engines.

Musk emphasized that these images would be beneficial for future upgrades. The recovery process faced numerous obstacles due to rough seas, complicating SpaceX's attempts to guide the 52-meter-long spacecraft towards the port in Western Australia. The 13th test flight of Starship proved to be a significant milestone for the company, as Ship deployed 20 functional Starlink V3 satellites during its mission.

Although the recovery of Ship may be unsuccessful, the data and imagery collected could still aid SpaceX in improving the heat shield, engines, and future recovery operations for Starship.