SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced last week that his company was planning to capture its reusable Super Heavy rocket with the arm of the launch tower. The Super Heavy is currently in development and is the first phase of the company’s Starship system. While SpaceX has yet to try anything like the capture box, it regularly lands its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets on the ground and on autonomous drones.
“We’re going to try to catch the Super Heavy booster with the launch tower arm, using the grid fins to take the load,” Musk said via Twitter. “Save the mass and cost of the bones and make it possible to drop the booster back on the mountain right away – ready to fill in less than an hour.”
The Super Heavy rocket is linked to SpaceX’s spaceship Starship, which is currently being tested. The Starship system is designed to take crew and cargo to Earth’s orbit and the moon with a view to Mars. Powered by 30 Raptor engines, it is expected to carry more than 100 tons (about 220,500 pounds) around the track.