SpaceX abandons attempt to catch Starship booster as Donald Trump watches

Stephen Morris in San Francisco and Joe Miller based in New York.

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On Tuesday, SpaceX's test launch of its massive rocket did not go as expected while president-elect Donald Trump observed. The flight directors decided to give up on trying to recover the rocket's reusable booster just a few minutes into the mission, marking a disappointing moment for SpaceX's owner, Elon Musk.

Trump visited Brownsville, Texas, to observe the sixth test of the Starship, the biggest and strongest rocket ever constructed. This spacecraft is vital to the United States' goal of returning humans to the Moon and supports Musk's dream of establishing a colony on Mars.

SpaceX aimed to replicate the technical success they achieved last month by using mechanical arms, referred to as "chopsticks," to catch the "Super Heavy" booster stage of their 397-foot (121-meter) rocket on the launch pad where it originally took off. Earlier that day, Musk mentioned that one of the goals was to carry out a quicker and more forceful booster catch.

Just four minutes into the flight, one of the mission directors issued the command “booster offshore divert” because certain criteria that had not yet been specified were not fulfilled for the mission attempt.

“Sadly, the catch didn't work out,” SpaceX engineer Kate Tice commented during the live stream on the social media platform X. “The first attempt was quite impressive, but the safety of our teams, the public, and the launch pad is our top priority. Therefore, we have to make some sacrifices.”

The rocket launched as planned and reached orbit, with the upper stage moving through space and restarting its Raptor engines. The unmanned spacecraft on the rocket's top completed an orbit around the Earth before coming down and crashing into the Indian Ocean. Rather than landing back at the launch pad, the lower-stage booster executed a controlled landing in the Gulf of Mexico, exploding upon hitting the water's surface.

Although the mission was partly successful, not catching the booster was a tough blow for Musk. He had extended an invitation to Trump to witness the event after Trump had expressed awe at the previous attempt during his campaign rallies. He referred to Musk as a "super-genius" and compared the way the arms caught the rocket to how one might hold a small child at night.

Having contributed over $100 million to Trump's campaign, Musk has emerged as a key player in his transition team, shaping decisions around cabinet and regulatory appointments. Trump has appointed the billionaire as co-head of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge, tasked with significantly reducing the size of the federal bureaucracy.

The successful “return and catch” achievement in October represented a significant technological advancement for SpaceX. The company aims to reduce the expenses of space exploration by recovering and reusing boosters that would have otherwise been destroyed. According to Morgan Stanley, a single Starship launch currently costs around $100 million, but SpaceX is optimistic that this price can be halved to $50 million in the future.

Last month, Musk described the achievement as a significant move toward enabling human life on multiple planets.

SpaceX is gearing up for a crewed journey around the Moon in 2025, followed by a landing on its surface in 2026.