Elon Musk Surprised by SpaceX’s Successful First Attempt at Catching Starship Booster

SpaceX achieved a significant milestone by successfully catching the Super Heavy booster during Starship Flight 5, a feat that even surprised Elon Musk. Musk had initially predicted that it would take at least three attempts to catch the booster, marking this success as a major achievement for the program.

SpaceX Surpasses Expectations by Catching Super Heavy Booster on First Attempt During Flight 5

In a recent report by Wccftech, before SpaceX’s Starship Flight 5, Elon Musk expressed uncertainty about whether the tower arms would successfully catch the Super Heavy booster during the test. The booster catch was a critical objective for SpaceX's Starship program, as it is essential for the rocket booster’s reuse, allowing for rapid and frequent flights. Before Flight 5, SpaceX had shared that it would closely monitor the booster's systems during launch, with a manual go-ahead from the launch director before attempting the catch.

The successful catch, which surprised many, including Musk, marked a significant milestone and opened the door for even more ambitious test objectives, such as catching the upper-stage Starship spacecraft with the same tower arms.

Earlier in the week, Musk took to social media platform X to share his belief that it would take at least three flights to catch the Super Heavy booster successfully. SpaceX moved quickly after Flight 4, deciding to attempt the catch with the tower arms, a decision Musk had also announced on social media.

Before Flight 5, Musk had commented during a presentation to SpaceX employees in Texas that “the odds of actually catching the booster with the tower are probably 80%, 90% this year.” Despite his typically optimistic outlook on SpaceX’s ventures, Musk’s cautious prediction was overly conservative. SpaceX not only successfully caught the booster with Flight 5 but did so on its first attempt.

Musk Predicts Three Water Landings Before SpaceX Attempts to Catch Starship’s Upper Stage

In another X post, Musk reiterated his belief that it would take three attempts before SpaceX successfully catches the Super Heavy booster with the tower arms. He also confirmed that plans include catching the upper-stage Starship spacecraft using the same tower arms. Initial tests of the upper stage saw SpaceX attempting to land the rocket using landing legs, as this will be the required profile for NASA’s Artemis lunar landing missions.

However, SpaceX is also planning to catch the Starship upper stage using the tower arms for other missions. This has raised questions about whether the ship will be seen by the same tower or a different one, mainly since the upper stage will likely require refurbishment due to the wear and tear on its heat shield.

According to Musk’s previous comments, SpaceX will conduct at least three successful water splashdowns before returning the upper-stage Starship to the launch pad for a catch attempt. During a talk in July, Musk mentioned that due to the “possibility of debris hitting, um, damaging property or… people,” SpaceX would aim for “at least three successful landings of the ship” before bringing it back to the launch site. Musk has hinted that this next phase could occur as soon as next year, depending on the success of the ongoing tests.