Starship FT13’s soft landing suggests next flight could feature tower catch

FROM LAST FRIDAY: Splashdown: SpaceX eyes tower catch for next Starship after auspicious end to 13th flight. Outside of an issue during their attempt to simulate a return-to-launch-site landing of the Super Heavy booster, resulting in a too-fast ocean landing, Flight Test 13 went swimmingly — literally. For the first time in thirteen flights, the Starship second stage did not RUD1 after soft-landing in the Indian Ocean. “This is the first time we’ve put an intact Starship in the water,” said Dan Huot, a SpaceX communications manager providing commentary on the company’s live webcast. “This is a dream scenario for the team that’s trying to get this heat shield data.” Tweet loading... Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly — “an unexpected kaboom”. ↩