The world’s largest rocket is ready for launch. On Earth, a “mechazilla” will catch it

“Starship and Super Heavy are ready to fly and are awaiting regulatory approval. Additional tests of the landing capture mechanism and Flight 6 are planned pending a flight permit,” the company said on Platform X, also owned by Elon Musk.

Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, consists of two reusable components: a 70-meter Super Heavy launch vehicle and the spacecraft itself.

The flight license must be granted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Once approved, SpaceX will be able to launch the rocket within days. This is likely to happen in August.

Mechazilla Time

SpaceX intends to capture the returning Super Heavy on its fifth mission using large robotic arms installed on the launch tower at Starbase in South Texas. The company has never attempted this before. During the first four test flights, conducted between April 2023 and June of this year, the Super Heavy’s lower stage landed in the Gulf of Mexico after separation from the spacecraft. SpaceX considered the fourth flight in June a complete success, as the spacecraft itself also survived re-entry into the atmosphere and landed in the Indian Ocean. Now the Super Heavy will return to base, and in the future, the spacecraft itself will return to it.