SpaceX is hinting at a new milestone in its upcoming Starship test flight. The company recently released a video showcasing highlights from the rocket’s fourth flight test, which took place on June 6. The video includes clips of ignition, lift-off, booster separation, and the reentries of both the Starship upper stage and its Super Heavy booster.
At the end of the video, there is an animation that shows a 400-foot-tall Super Heavy booster coming back in for a landing at Starship’s launch tower, also known as “Mechazilla.” The animation includes the words “Next up” and “Flight 5,” suggesting that SpaceX plans to attempt to catch the booster on its upcoming flight test. The goal is to catch the Super Heavy on the launch tower so that it can be refurbished and relaunched more efficiently and on shorter timeframes.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has also hinted at this milestone on social media, stating that they are aiming to try it in late July. The company has previously posted an animation of the “chopstick” arms on the Mechazilla launch tower catching a Super Heavy booster during a landing at Starbase in South Texas.
Starship has undergone four successful launches to date, with each test marking additional milestones. The ultimate goal of Starship is to reach Mars and potentially help settle humans there. NASA also plans to use the rocket for crewed missions to the moon as part of the Artemis program.
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