Starship lifted off for its sixth test flight on Tuesday, but its Super Heavy Booster splashed down in the ocean rather than being caught by the company’s giant “chopsticks.”
Shortly after launching its Starship rocket for the sixth time, SpaceX opted out of performing a booster catch, letting the rocket’s first stage dive into the ocean instead. It’s not the result the company was hoping for, but data from the flight will undoubtedly inform future attempts.
Starship lifted off on Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas for its sixth integrated test flight. The suborbital launch was supposed to include the Super Heavy booster being caught by the massive Mechazilla tower after reentry, but SpaceX declared it a no-go for the booster catch roughly four minutes after liftoff.
“A lot of things need to go well for that to line up,” a SpaceX spokesperson explained during the live broadcast. Instead, the booster had to perform a soft soggy landing off the coast in Texas because not all criteria for a catch were met, SpaceX added. The company cited safety concerns for the team, the public, and the launch pad itself as the reason why SpaceX skipped the booster catch attempt, according to the broadcast.
Super Heavy initiates its landing burn and softly splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico pic.twitter.com/BZ3Az4GssC
SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 19, 2024
The booster’s splashdown was still impressive to watch, as the massive rocket slowed down on its way to the surface of the water before gently diving in like a humpback whale after a full breach.
