SpaceX Plans Dual Starship Catch After Engine Shutdowns on Flight 14

SpaceX plans to try catching both stages of Starship at its launch tower in November, following a September flight in which engines shut down on both the booster and spacecraft.

The planned flight would be SpaceX’s first attempt to recover the Super Heavy booster and Starship spacecraft on the same mission. The tower’s mechanical arms would capture each stage. SpaceX has caught Super Heavy before, but it has not caught the spacecraft.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk outlined the plan during the company’s Oct. 20 earnings webcast. Musk said recovering both stages would be a first for an orbital launch vehicle, though the attempt could fail.

On Sept. 28, Flight 14 reached orbit and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites. A Raptor engine shut down on Super Heavy during ascent. A separate vacuum Raptor shut down on the spacecraft, prompting flight controllers to shorten its time in orbit as a precaution. The two stages splashed down separately, and neither was recovered.

Flight 14 was Starship’s first revenue-generating mission. Its payload added about 10 times the downlink capacity of a Falcon 9 Starlink launch, giving the next recovery test a direct connection to SpaceX’s satellite business.

SpaceX expects further Starship test flights before the end of the year and a faster flight pace in 2027. Its next planned attempt to catch both stages is expected in November; no launch day has been set.