SpaceX plans first attempt to catch both Starship stages on next flight

SpaceX plans to try catching both stages of its Starship rocket on its next test flight, Elon Musk said at the company’s October 20 earnings call. The attempt, potentially as soon as November, would add the Ship upper stage to a recovery method already used for the Super Heavy booster and bring SpaceX closer to its goal of reusing the entire vehicle.

Engadget identified the planned mission as flight 15 and reported that SpaceX showed a short simulation during the livestream. It depicted the launch tower’s mechanical ‘chopstick’ arms catching Ship as it returned to Earth. The company has previously used the arms to catch Super Heavy, but has not tried catching the upper stage.

Why catching Ship is harder than catching the booster

The plan follows a flight in which neither stage was recovered. The Verge reported that a Raptor engine shut down prematurely during ascent, and the planned 10-hour, six-orbit mission ended after about three hours and two orbits. Super Heavy splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico; Ship performed a de-orbit burn before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii. Our earlier coverage described Starship’s first orbital flight; the new announcement concerns an attempt to bring both stages back for recovery.

When SpaceX expects to try the catch

Musk told the earnings call that success on the first attempts was not guaranteed, though he considered a catch more likely than not on the next flight, according to The Verge. He said SpaceX expected a steady stream of Starship flight attempts through the end of 2026, accelerating in 2027. SpaceX has not given a specific date for flight 15.