Towards full recovery of the launch system
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, has revealed an ambitious plan aimed at fully recovering the Starship orbital launch system during the next test flight scheduled for next month. The plan includes an attempt to catch both the massive Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft using mechanical launch arms known as "chopstick arms" upon their return to the launch pad.
What is changing in practice?
Until now, orbital rocket recovery operations have been limited to specific parts or landings in the ocean. If this attempt succeeds, it will be the first time in the history of aerospace engineering that a complete orbital launch system is recovered and reused, representing a qualitative leap in the reuse technologies adopted by the company to reduce the costs of accessing space.
Technical and practical challenges
Musk confirmed during the third-quarter earnings report that success is not guaranteed in this first-of-its-kind flight, noting that the company is prepared for the possibility of failure, with an intensive schedule of additional test flights through the end of the current year and the beginning of next year. The vehicle's design relies on Raptor engines that run on liquid methane and liquid oxygen, and it is designed to return with extreme precision to the launch site.
Context of previous flights
This step comes after last month's flight, which saw significant technical successes, such as the vehicle reaching Earth's orbit and deploying third-generation Starlink satellites, despite facing technical challenges represented by the premature shutdown of one of the Raptor engines, which forced the control center to shorten the mission duration. In that flight, the booster and the vehicle ended up landing in the ocean without being recovered, which is what the company seeks to overcome in the next attempt.