SpaceX will try to catch both stages of its Starship rocket with its launch tower's mechanical arms on the next test flight, expected next month, Elon Musk said during the company's third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, Space.com reports. Musk said success would mark the first time an orbital launch vehicle had been fully recovered, calling it a profound technology milestone, and said it was more likely than not to work on the first attempt.
SpaceX has caught the Super Heavy booster on three of Starship's 14 test flights but has never tried to catch the upper stage, which flies higher and faster. On Flight 14 in September, the Ship reached orbit for the first time and deployed 26 next-generation Starlink satellites. Musk did not give a date for Flight 15.
Source: Space.com
