Setback for SpaceX Starship rocket’s double-catch test

SpaceX has called off its attempt to catch the lower portion of its massive Starship rocket during a recent test flight. The objective was to retrieve the Super Heavy booster using the launch tower's mechanical arms, nicknamed chopsticks, but it ended up landing in the ocean and exploding upon re-entry. The top part of the rocket, known as the Ship, is still progressing towards space, where it will deploy a constellation of 26 satellites for high-speed internet.

The Ship is scheduled to complete 14 orbits around Earth before returning to the launch tower 22.5 hours after takeoff for a potential second catch attempt. While SpaceX has successfully recovered the Super Heavy Booster in three prior tests, the upper stage has never been caught and instead has splashed down in the ocean. SpaceX aims to make the Starship fully reusable, a goal they first achieved in 2015 with the vertical landing of the Falcon 9 booster.

Reusability could significantly reduce the costs of space launches, according to Malcolm Macdonald, President of the Royal Aeronautical Society. The successful flight of Starship would be a significant step in demonstrating the vehicle's capabilities, potentially marking a transition from proving Starship can fly to showcasing how it could operate.

The flight's outcome will be closely monitored by SpaceX's shareholders and the US Space Agency, as it has implications for NASA's Moon landing mission in 2028. SpaceX has been contracted by NASA to modify the Starship into a lunar lander for the Artemis III mission, which is targeted for summer 2027. However, both SpaceX and Blue Origin, owned by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, face challenges as they work with NASA.

Blue Origin has recently suffered a setback with the explosion of its New Glenn rocket, which destroyed their launchpad in Florida, delaying their return to flight to early 2027.