SpaceX to Attempt First-Ever Fully Reusable Rocket Catch

SpaceX is about to attempt something no one has ever done before: catching an entire rocket out of the sky.

The company plans to capture both stages of its massive Starship rocket during its next test flight in November. If it works, Starship will become the first orbital launch vehicle ever fully recovered, founder Elon Musk announced during the company's earnings call.

Starship stands over 400 feet tall, making it the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built. Unlike SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets that land on pads or ships, Starship's two stages will steer themselves back to the launch tower, where giant mechanical "chopstick" arms will pluck them from the air.

SpaceX has already proven it can catch the Super Heavy booster, successfully grabbing it on three of Starship's 14 test flights. But catching the upper stage, called Ship, is much harder because it travels higher, farther, and faster than the booster.

Musk thinks they'll nail it on the first attempt. "I'd say it's more likely than not that this succeeds next flight," he said, adding that if it doesn't work, the company has multiple backup attempts scheduled through year's end.

Why This Inspires

This isn't just about catching rockets for show. Full reusability changes everything about space exploration.

Right now, most rockets are thrown away after one use, like burning millions of dollars with each launch. Recovering and reusing both stages means SpaceX can inspect, refurbish, and refly Starship quickly and cheaply.

That economic breakthrough could finally make ambitious goals like Mars settlement realistic. Musk envisions launching Starship more than 10,000 times per year by 2030, turning space travel from an exclusive club into something almost routine.

The timing couldn't be better. On Starship's last flight in September, the upper stage reached orbit for the first time ever and successfully deployed 26 next-generation Starlink satellites. The momentum is building with each test.

SpaceX's business is booming too, with revenues hitting $14.6 billion in the third quarter, a 161% jump from the previous year. Most of that money comes from Starlink, not launches, giving the company resources to keep pushing boundaries.

One successful catch next month could mark the moment when truly reusable spaceflight moved from dream to reality.