SpaceX to attempt first simultaneous recovery of Starship and booster next month

October 21 - According to The Verge, SpaceX CEO Musk announced during the company's third-quarter earnings call that SpaceX will attempt next month, for the first time, to catch the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster using the launch tower, achieving recovery of the entire orbital launch system. Musk said that if successful, this would be the first time in history that an orbital launch vehicle has been fully recovered. He said the attempt is "not guaranteed to succeed," but the likelihood of success is greater, and test flights will continue through the end of the year, with an accelerated pace next year. In last month's Starship launch, one Raptor engine shut down early, shortening the mission from the planned 6 orbits to 2, and neither stage was recovered.