SpaceX launches colossal Starship rocket and catches it for 2nd time with robotic arms

SpaceX for the second time has used giant mechanical arms to catch its Starship rocket back at the pad minutes after liftoff. At the same time, the empty spacecraft launched from Texas Thursday soared across the Gulf of Mexico on a near loop around the world similar to previous test flights. But this time Elon Musk’s SpaceX packed it with 10 dummy satellites for practice at releasing them. It was the seventh test flight for the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket. NASA has reserved a pair of Starships to land astronauts on the moon later this decade. Musk’s goal is Mars.

For the second time, SpaceX used giant mechanical arms to catch its Starship rocket back at the pad minutes after liftoff Thursday.

At the same time, the empty spacecraft launched from Texas soared across the Gulf of Mexico on a near loop around the world similar to previous test flights.

SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot said mission managers lost communication with the spacecraft and were troubleshooting. This time, Elon Musk’s SpaceX packed it with 10 dummy satellites for practice at releasing them.

It was the stunning booster catch on Musk’s first try that wowed space fans in October and again Thursday. The descending booster hovered over the launch pad before being gripped by a pair of mechanical arms dubbed chopsticks.

The company insisted everything had to be perfect in order for the booster to return to the launch site. This booster was the first to use a recycled engine — one from October’s successful catch.

The 400-foot (123-meter) rocket thundered away in late afternoon from Boca Chica Beach near the Mexican border. The late hour ensured a daylight entry halfway around the world.

Skimming space, the shiny retro-looking spacecraft — intended by Musk as a moon and Mars ships — targeted the Indian Ocean for a controlled but destructive end to the hourlong demo.

SpaceX beefed up the catch tower after November’s launch ended up damaging sensors on the robotic arms, forcing the team to forgo a capture attempt. That booster was steered into the gulf instead.

The company also upgraded the spacecraft for the latest demo. The fake satellites were the same size as SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites and, like the spacecraft, meant to drop into the Indian Ocean to close out the mission.

Musk plans to launch actual Starlinks on Starships before moving on to other satellites and, eventually, crews.

It was the seventh test flight for the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket. NASA has reserved a pair of Starships to land astronauts on the moon later this decade. Musk’s goal is Mars.

“Every Starship launch is one more step closer towards Mars,” Musk said via X ahead of liftoff.

Hours hours earlier in Florida, another billionaire’s rocket company — Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin — launched the newest supersized rocket, New Glenn. The rocket reached orbit on its first flight, successfully placing an experimental satellite thousands of miles above Earth. But the first-stage booster was destroyed, missing its targeted landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic.