The head of SpaceX suggests that an extraordinary achievement for Starship could occur 'this year'.

      SpaceX

      When SpaceX initially launched the Starship, it exploded shortly after liftoff. Since then, the most powerful rocket in the world has successfully flown seven additional times, with each test flight demonstrating significant improvements in various aspects of the vehicle's design, although some issues persist in other areas.

      A key milestone achieved thus far is the launch tower successfully capturing the first-stage Super Heavy booster as it returned to the launchpad shortly after deploying the upper-stage Starship spacecraft into orbit.

      Witnessing this is quite remarkable, as the 71-meter-tall (232 feet) rocket ignites around a dozen of its 33 Raptor engines to stabilize itself in preparation for the grip of the launch tower's massive mechanical arms.

      This system enables SpaceX to reuse the booster for multiple missions, helping to reduce launch expenses.

      The aim is to replicate this with the Starship spacecraft, and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk mentioned this week that his team hopes to attempt the catch maneuver “this year.”

      In response to a post on X featuring footage of a Starship spacecraft firing its engines during a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean at the conclusion of a previous test, Musk remarked: “Later this year, if destiny favors SpaceX, the ship will be captured by the tower, just like the booster.”

      Accomplishing this would be a significant milestone for the company, as it does not even perform this maneuver with the second stage of its primary Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX has already demonstrated its capability to retrieve the Super Heavy booster, and it has conducted a controlled final descent (into the Indian Ocean) with the spacecraft, laying the groundwork for the maneuver.

      The long-term objective is to utilize the Starship spacecraft for transporting crew and cargo to the moon and even Mars before returning to Earth. With this goal in mind, SpaceX will be eager to see if it can bring the vehicle back using the same method employed for the Super Heavy booster, securing it with mechanical arms. However, the company must first ensure the spacecraft's reliability after midflight failures occurred during its seventh and eighth missions.

      SpaceX is now preparing for the ninth test flight of the Starship, following its most recent mission in March. Musk recently stated that the flight is scheduled for next week; however, a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday indicated that, as of the time of publication, SpaceX had not yet received authorization to launch.

      Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

      SpaceX powers Bandwagon-3 to orbit. Watch the highlights.

      SpaceX successfully launched the Bandwagon-3 mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Monday night. The rocket lifted off on schedule at 8:48 p.m. ET, carrying ADD’s 425Sat-3, Tomorrow Companies Inc.’s Tomorrow-S7, and Atmos Space Cargo’s Phoenix reentry capsule.

      A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has just set a new record.

      After a mission early on Monday, the first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket entered the record books as the first to launch and land 27 times. The Falcon 9 took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida at midnight on Monday, April 14, successfully deploying 27 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit.

      SpaceX is about to attempt something new with its formidable Starship rocket.

      SpaceX has just conducted a test firing of a Super Heavy booster in preparation for Starship’s ninth flight test. The ground-based test of the world’s most powerful rocket occurred at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, on Thursday.