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Prior to SpaceX’s Starship Flight 5, Elon Musk was unsure whether the turret arms would successfully capture the Super Heavy booster during the test. SpaceX’s booster capture was one of the most important test targets for the Starship program, as it is essential for reusing the rocket booster for high-speed flights. Before Flight 5, SpaceX had shared that it would carefully evaluate the booster’s systems during launch, and a manual start would be given by the launch director before a capture attempt. The successful capture surprised many, including Musk, and it also paved the way for more ambitious test goals, such as capturing the spacecraft on the upper stage with the turret capture arms.
Elon Musk confirms that SpaceX will try to capture upper-stage spacecraft with turret arms in future flights
In an X post made earlier this week, Musk shared that he believed a successful Starship Super Heavy booster capture would take at least three flights. SpaceX had moved quickly after Flight 4 to decide it would attempt to capture the booster with the turret arms, and Musk himself had announced the decision on social media.
Before Flight 5, in a presentation given to SpaceX employees in Texas, Musk had commented that “The odds of actually catching the booster with the tower is probably 80%, 90% this year.” In a strange twist of irony, the boss, whose optimism for his business ventures is often a source of intrigue and criticism, ended up being pessimistic when SpaceX not only caught the booster with Flight 5, but managed to do it on the first try.
In another post, Musk shared that he believed “it would take three tries” before SpaceX would be able to successfully capture the Super Heavy booster with the turret arms. In another post, he also confirmed that SpaceX will capture the spacecraft on the upper stage with the turret arms in the future. SpaceX is attempting to land the rocket on its landing leg, as this will be the ship’s profile for NASA’s lunar landing missions for the Artemis program.
But for other missions, SpaceX is now aiming to capture the ship with the turret arm as well. This also raises questions about whether the ship will be captured by the same or a different tower, as SpaceX may have to refurbish the upper ship due to its heat shield.
According to Musk’s previous comments, SpaceX will perform at least three successful water splashdowns before returning the upper ship to the launch pad. During a lecture in July, he said that since “there is some possibility of debris hitting, um, you know, damaging property or. . or people,” SpaceX would try “at least three successful landings of the ship” before returning it to the launch site. This attempt could hopefully be next year according to Musk’s latest statements.