Catch the Starship Higher Stage With ‘Chopsticks’

SpaceX lastly broke out of a severe Starship stoop on Tuesday, acing the rocket’s 10th flight after months of failed attemps. Now, CEO Elon Musk has set his sights on the subsequent massive problem: catching Starship’s higher stage with Mechazilla’s “chopstick” arms.

In an X put up on Wednesday, August 27, Musk said the subsequent alternatives to aim this feat would doubtless be flights 13 by way of 15, relying on how properly V3—the subsequent iteration of Starship—performs. The Starship launched Tuesday was a V2, which is barely smaller and presents much less payload capability and thrust than the forthcoming V3. In one other X post, Musk mentioned he expects V3 to be constructed, examined, and maybe flown by the top of the yr.

Starship catch might be flight 13 to fifteen, relying on how properly V3 flights go

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 27, 2025

Why catch as a substitute of land?

The Starship launch system consists of two predominant parts: the ‘Tremendous Heavy’ booster and an higher stage spacecraft known as Starship. Each phases are designed for fast reuse, that means they should return to Earth in a single piece. That’s the place Mechazilla is available in.

This large launch tower at Starbase, Texas is supplied with large chopstick-like arms designed to catch Tremendous Heavy and Starship throughout their separate descents. This strategy is healthier suited to Starship than mushy touchdown on a droneship or touchdown pad just like the Falcon 9. Starship is far bigger, so it will require extra-big touchdown legs and in depth touchdown infrastructure to try this. The chopstick catch eliminates these wants and thus reduces weight.

Can SpaceX pull it off in 4 months?

SpaceX already caught Super Heavy on Flight 5 in October 2024, Flight 7 in January, and Flight 8 in March, but it surely has but to aim this with Starship. After the primary profitable booster catch, Musk said he hoped to catch Starship someday in 2025, however the first half of the yr didn’t precisely go as deliberate. A series of explosive failures through the first half of the yr considerably delayed Starship’s launch schedule.

If Musk is focusing on Flight 13 for a primary try of the Starship catch, which means SpaceX would wish to launch Flights 11 and 12 throughout the subsequent 4 months to tug this off in 2025. It’s not an impossibility, but it surely’s extra doubtless that the primary Starship catch will happen someday in 2026.

Nonetheless, Starship’s near-flawless efficiency throughout Flight 10 suggests SpaceX’s luck could also be altering. The megarocket launched on time, adopted by a clean stage separation and booster touchdown—no catch try this time. Simply over 18 minutes into the mission, it opened its bay doorways and ejected payloads into house for the primary time. That mentioned, this megarocket nonetheless has a protracted approach to go to get to Mars.