SpaceX will attempt 1st-ever double Starship rocket catch on next test launch, a 'profound technology milestone,' Elon Musk says

Catching both stages means recovering the entire Starship vehicle after launch. The Super Heavy booster forms the lower stage, while Ship is the upper spacecraft. Instead of being discarded or landing elsewhere, both would return directly to the launch tower. SpaceX sees this as essential to making Starship fully and rapidly reusable.

The tower would use giant mechanical arms nicknamed “chopsticks.” Super Heavy and Ship would steer themselves back toward the tower, where the arms would catch them. SpaceX has already completed three Super Heavy chopstick catches, but it has never attempted to catch Ship.

The planned double catch is targeted for the next test flight, expected next month. Elon Musk called successful recovery of both stages a “profound technology milestone.” The article does not provide the tower’s exact catching sequence or dimensions, but says the system is designed to enable inspection, refurbishment and rapid reflights.

Fully stacked, Starship stands more than 400 feet, or 122 meters, tall. The article describes it as the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built. Its size reflects a two-stage design built for large-scale space operations, including launching satellites and supporting future exploration plans.

The lower stage is Super Heavy, the booster that powers the vehicle away from Earth during launch. The upper stage is Ship, the spacecraft that travels higher, farther and faster after separating from the booster. On Flight 14, Ship reached orbit for the first time and deployed 26 Starlink Version 3 satellites.

Both stages are designed to be fully and rapidly reusable. Super Heavy has already been caught by the launch tower’s chopstick arms on three test flights. Ship has not yet been caught. SpaceX aims to recover both stages so it can inspect, refurbish and fly them again quickly.

Ship is harder to catch because it follows a more demanding flight path than the Super Heavy booster. After separation, the upper stage travels higher, farther and faster. That gives it a more challenging return to the launch tower and leaves less room for a precise catch.

Super Heavy is the lower stage and has already demonstrated that it can steer back toward the tower. SpaceX has successfully caught it with the tower’s chopstick arms on three Starship test flights. Ship, by contrast, has not yet been caught on any flight. The company considers its recovery a more difficult proposition.

SpaceX plans to attempt a Ship catch on the next test flight, expected next month. Musk said success is “more likely than not,” while acknowledging that repeated flights may be needed. The article does not provide technical details about Ship’s exact approach or the tower’s catch tolerances.

Recovering both stages would turn Starship into a fully reusable orbital launch vehicle. SpaceX says rapid reuse would make ambitious missions, including Mars settlement, economically feasible. Reusing hardware can reduce the need to replace complete launch vehicles, but the article does not state a specific cost per launch or a precise savings figure.

The key mechanism is the tower catch. Super Heavy and Ship would return directly to the launch site, where chopstick arms would capture them. SpaceX could then inspect, refurbish and fly them again at an accelerated rate. That faster turnaround is central to the company’s plans for frequent launches.

Musk has said he envisions more than 10,000 Starship launches per year by 2030. The article does not say that this target is guaranteed, nor does it provide a launch schedule based on successful double catches. It does connect rapid reuse with thousands of launches for Starlink satellites and AI data centers.

Starship’s recovery plan is designed to recover both stages of the rocket. Super Heavy and Ship would steer directly back to the launch tower, where mechanical “chopstick” arms would catch them. This approach is intended to support fast inspection, refurbishment and reuse of the complete launch vehicle.

Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy use a different system. Their boosters return to landing pads near the launch site or to ships at sea downrange. Their upper stages are expendable, so those rockets are only partially reusable. Starship’s plan is therefore more ambitious because it includes recovery of the upper stage as well as the booster.

The difference matters because SpaceX links full recovery with a higher launch rate and lower-cost access to orbit. Starship has completed three Super Heavy catches, but Ship recovery remains untested. The next test flight is expected to attempt the first catch of Ship and possibly the first double catch.

The article does not describe a specific backup procedure if Starship misses a catch. Musk said that, if the next attempt does not succeed, SpaceX would have a steady stream of Starship flight attempts through the end of the year and accelerating into the following year. That indicates continued testing rather than an announced replacement recovery system.

SpaceX already uses other recovery methods for its Falcon rockets. Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters return to landing pads near the launch site or to ships at sea downrange. Those methods are established in the article, but it does not say that Starship stages would use them after a failed tower catch.

The article also notes that Falcon upper stages are expendable. Therefore, another possible launch approach described by the source is using a vehicle with an expendable upper stage, though that is not presented as Starship’s planned fallback. No Starship contingency details or alternative cost figures are provided.

Full reusability matters because an orbital launch vehicle could be recovered, refurbished and flown repeatedly. SpaceX believes that this would make sustained activity beyond Earth economically feasible. Musk described a fully reusable orbital launch vehicle as important for extending consciousness beyond Earth on a sustained basis.

Starship is designed to recover both its Super Heavy booster and Ship spacecraft. They would steer back to the launch tower and be caught by chopstick arms. Reusing both stages could support frequent launches carrying satellites and other infrastructure. The company is building infrastructure for thousands of Starship launches per year to deploy Starlink satellites and AI data centers in orbit.

The plan remains in testing. Ship reached orbit for the first time on Flight 14 and deployed 26 Starlink Version 3 satellites, but SpaceX has not yet caught Ship. The next flight is expected to attempt that catch, while the company continues working toward much higher launch rates.