SpaceX has aborted an attempt to catch its Starship rocket using a “chopsticks” system.
With SpaceX boss Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump watching on, Starship’s Super Heavy booster was instead forced to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico.
The failed attempt is a blow to Musk’s ambition to make Starship rapidly reusable in order to send crew and cargo to the Moon and Mars.
The unusual landing manoeuvre was successful once before on the previous Starship flight test in October, with SpaceX citing safety concerns for the decision to abort on Tuesday.
All other aspects of the latest Starship test flight went to plan, with a successful splash down for the main craft in the Indian Ocean taking place roughly 50 minutes after it lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
“The biggest technology challenge remaining for Starship is a fully and immediately reusable heat shield. Being able to land the ship, refill propellant and launch right away with no refurbishment or laborious inspection. That is the acid test,” Musk posted on X following the test flight.
“I am highly confident that we can send several uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years. If those ships don’t increment the crater count on Mars, then crewed ships can be sent in four years.”
