SpaceX wants to do before the end of August fourteenth flight test Starship and complete a maneuver you have never attempted with the upper stage. The company intends for the ship to return to starbase after circling the Earth and is caught in the air by the mechanical arms of the launch tower, something that until now has only been achieved with the propellant.
Elon Musk confirmed these plans during SpaceX’s quarterly earnings presentation, although he made it clear that the date and recovery attempt They still depend on the US authoritiesReuters reports. ‘I would say everything looks very good and so, assuming we receive the necessary regulatory approval, We will try to catch the ship with the tower on the next flight, provisionally scheduled for the end of this month‘ Musk explained.
The attempt will affect only the upper stage of 52 meters which has the same name as the entire rocket, Starship, but which the company also refers to as ship. The propellant Super Heavy You will not return to the tower during this mission, but instead will land in the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX now has trapped three thrusters with the arms of the tower, but he has never attempted to do the same with the ship.
The company’s confidence comes mainly from the results obtained during the flight 13launched on July 24 from Starbase. The upper stage completed its suborbital trajectory and made a soft landing in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Western Australia, without breaking up or exploding after hitting the water.
NEW🚨: SpaceX shares insane drone footage from Starship’s first-ever intact soft splashdown last week pic.twitter.com/OvMVWVtxhY
— Latest in space (@latestinspace) July 28, 2026
The heat shield also withstood the descent in good condition. through the atmosphere, one of the biggest problems that SpaceX had in previous flights. Musk considers that the results allow this obstacle to be overcomealthough the statement must be confirmed in the next missions. ‘I don’t want to jinx it or anything like that, but I think that, at this point, I would consider the heat shield problem solved,’ said the businessman.
The Starship used on Flight 13 remained floating intact after splashdown. Musk expressed his intention to recover it and this Wednesday satellite images were published showing a boat towing the ship towards Australia. The company intends to examine it to learn in detail how its structure and the heat shield tiles withstood reentry.
🚨Satellite images of SpaceX’s Ship 40 being towed in the Indian Ocean!
This will be so valuable for the engineers!
Credit: CNN pic.twitter.com/7IVKdMMSNn
—What about it!? (@FelixSchlang) August 3, 2026
Flight 14 will also mark another important advance by carrying satellites Starlink V3 and try to place them for the first time in an operational orbit. The previous mission carried 20 units of this new generation, but they were released during a suborbital trajectory and were not intended to remain around the Earth.
Musk also announced that SpaceX intends to quickly accelerate the Starship flight program to a daily frequency. ‘We hope that the pace of flights will increase rapidly and that, probably within a year, we will be launching at least one launch a day, maybe more‘said the businessman. Capturing the upper stage will allow SpaceX to test Starship’s ground recovery for the first time and bring it closer to that goal.