SpaceX Shares Test Footage Of “Upcoming” Starship Super Heavy Tower Catch

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On the same day that its Starbase general manager Kathy Leuders speculated that SpaceX might not move forward with the highly risky tower catch of the Starship rocket on the upcoming test flight, the firm has shared fresh footage of its catch tests. SpaceX has been clamping down its tower arms, called chopsticks, around a portion of a Super Heavy booster to evaluate the system's parameters for a real life test attempt. Its footage, shared moments back, shows one of the clamp arms repeatedly closing in on the rocket section while the other arm remains mostly static.

SpaceX Confirms Starship Tower Catch Test In Texas

SpaceX's fourth Starship test flight, which took place at the start of the month, was the most successful test to date. It marked the fourth flight of the 233 feet tall Super Heavy booster and marked the first time that the rocket successfully splashed down in the water. At the same time, it also marked the first time that the second stage Starship survived atmospheric reentry, giving SpaceX engineers the confidence to fine tune their ship design.

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Staying true to his firm's rapid testing pace, SpaceX chief Elon Musk announced immediately after the test that his firm might attempt to catch the Super Heavy booster with the tower on Starship test flight 5. SpaceX rolled out a section of the Super Heavy booster to the pad earlier this week, and yesterday, it placed it at the launch pad again to simulate a tower catch.

SpaceX's goal to catch its rocket with the tower arms is the first time a rocket operator intends to do so. It aims to reduce the time taken to prepare the rocket for re flight, and it also removes the complication of trying to land the world's largest first stage rocket booster on legs. SpaceX's Falcon 9 uses either