Elon Musk just revealed: SpaceX to catch Starship in mid-air is on the edge!

Elon Musk just revealed: SpaceX to catch Starship in mid-air is on the edge!
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#alphatech
#techalpha
#spacex
#elonmusk
#starship
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Elon Musk just revealed: SpaceX to catch Starship in mid-air is on the edge!
Finally, SpaceX is ready to unleash Mechazilla at 100% power by the end of this year!
The Starbase launch tower was built to not just launch but catch both Starship and Super Heavy mid-air, a feat of engineering straight out of sci-fi.
Yet, after nine test flights, it’s still waiting to flex its true power.
But Elon Musk didn’t keep us waiting long. He’s already revealed that after just a few more test flights, Starship will attempt the craziest catch like never before.
So, what exactly did he say?
And how will SpaceX change the game with this landing technique?
Let’s find out in today’s episode of Alpha Tech!
Elon Musk just revealed: SpaceX to catch Starship in mid-air is on the edge!
From NASA’s golden age with the Apollo missions to today’s era of cutting-edge rocket tech, space agencies have come up with all kinds of clever ways to bring crewed spacecraft, or upper stages, safely back home.
Take the Apollo missions, for example. The crew capsule splashed down in the ocean using parachutes, and that old-school method still holds up. Just look at SpaceX’s Dragon, it uses the same idea, just with modern upgrades.
Now, if we’re talking about landing on solid ground, Soyuz and Boeing’s Starliner are the go-to examples. These capsules are designed to touch down gently on land, using parachutes and retro-rockets to soften the blow.
But let’s not forget one of the most unique landings ever, the Space Shuttle. That thing came down on a runway like a regular airplane. Totally different vibe. And now, Sierra Space is bringing that idea back with Dream Chaser, their sleek little spaceplane that also lands on a runway.
On the other hand, if the upper stage isn’t reusable, like the S-IVB stage from the Saturn V rockets used in Apollo, NASA had a couple of smart tricks. Sometimes they pushed it into a heliocentric orbit, other times they crashed it into the Moon on purpose. Yeah, seriously, in 1969, they smashed one into the lunar surface just to study moonquakes. Plus, it helped avoid leaving junk in orbit.
Elon Musk just revealed: SpaceX to catch Starship in mid-air is on the edge!
Fast forward to today, Elon Musk and SpaceX are doing something similar. If the Falcon 9’s upper stage isn’t coming back, they’ll either let it burn up in the atmosphere or toss it into a “graveyard orbit.” Same with the Dragon capsule’s trunk, once it’s done its job, it gets jettisoned and burns up on re-entry.
But there’s one landing method that, I’d bet, no other space agency in the world has ever seriously tried, catching a spacecraft right on the launch tower it took off from.
Yes, that’s exactly what SpaceX plans to do with Starship. After a controlled descent, it won’t land on a pad, it’ll be caught mid-air by a pair of giant mechanical arms called the “chopsticks.”
At one point, Elon Musk said SpaceX would need to nail at least one more successful ocean landing of the Starship upper stage before even thinking about attempting that insanely complex tower catch.

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