SpaceX finally achieved significant success after nine consecutive failed tests. The tenth launch of the Starship mega-rocket went almost perfectly. Achieving all of the objectives set during the flight paves the way for the next ambitious task — a soft landing. CEO Elon Musk announced that the next step would be to attempt to catch the upper stage of the Starship rocket using giant arms on the Mechazilla launch tower, which have been nicknamed “chopsticks.”
This operation is key to the future of the space program, as it will significantly reduce the weight of the structure and make the system completely reusable.
Mechazilla — the future of space landings
The Starship launch system is radically different from any other. It consists of two parts: the Super Heavy launch vehicle and the Starship spacecraft. Both elements have to be brought back to Earth for reuse. And that’s where Mechazilla comes in.
This massive steel tower at Starbase in Texas is equipped with two powerful arms. Their goal is to literally catch Super Heavy and Starship in midair during landing. This approach is more efficient for Starship than the classic landing on supports, as with the Falcon 9 rocket. To gently land such a gigantic structure, excessively large and heavy supports would be required, as well as powerful infrastructure, which would significantly increase the total weight. Catching with chopsticks eliminates this need.
Way to capture
SpaceX has already had success with capturing its Super Heavy booster stage. The company has demonstrated this technology in practice three times. However, with the upper stage — Starship — this will be tested for the first time.
After the first successful capture of the carrier, Elon Musk stated that he hoped to catch Starship as early as 2025. However, a series of accidents at the beginning of the year significantly changed plans. Now, the company’s CEO has noted in a post on social network X (Twitter) that the first attempt may take place during one of the flights between the 13th and 15th. It depends on the readiness of the new version of the spacecraft, Starship V3, which should be more powerful than the current V2.
Hopefully early next year, we will catch the ship too
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 15, 2024
Starship catch is probably flight 13 to 15, depending on how well V3 flights go
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 27, 2025
To implement this plan by the end of the year, SpaceX will need to conduct two more successful launches, which is an ambitious but entirely realistic goal.
We previously reported on how Starship was considered unviable.
According to gizmodo.com
