The double landing of the Musk mega rocket failed

That was close. Just four hours before the official launch date on Friday at 4:45 p.m. local time, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave the green light to one of the most spectacular space missions in history. The entrepreneur Elon Musk and his space company SpaceX launched the world's largest rocket Starship from Texas and wanted to dare to return both rocket stages to the launch tower for the first time. A first in the history of space travel was planned, which would pave the way for cost-effective payload transport into space.

But the first stage of the mission was only partially successful. The 70-meter-long propulsion stage did not return to the launch tower as planned just seven minutes after the engine was ignited, but instead touched down gently on the sea in the Gulf of Mexico. It initially remained unclear why the propulsion stage did not fly back to the launch tower.

In the live broadcast of the rocket launch, all that was said was that safety aspects came first. Obviously, the risk of a crash of the propulsion stage on the launch tower should not be taken because the system is still needed for the return of the upper stage. What initially emerged was a picture-perfect start, with all 33 engines in the propulsion stage firing.

SpaceX has already succeeded in the planned spectacular maneuver of intercepting the propulsion stage three times, most recently in March 2025. But this time Musk wants to go one step further. The upper stage of the mega rocket is also scheduled to return to the launch tower at around 3:17 p.m. local time on Saturday after 22 hours of flight and 14 orbits around the Earth and be clasped and caught while floating in the air. It initially remained unclear whether the starting tower was technically ready for the first return of a Starship upper stage.

It would be an engineering masterpiece and the 55-year-old Musk would underline his role as a pacesetter and pioneer in the space industry. Musk was the first to implement the recycling idea in space travel. Back in December 2015, a rocket propulsion stage successfully landed vertically on landing legs for the first time. Since then, this maneuver has been successful hundreds of times. Musk explicitly describes his rocket development approach as one that not only accepts mistakes and failures, but sees them as a necessary part of progress.

Start-up costs should be reduced by 99 percent

It is the 15th mission of the 120 meter high rocket. With a full tank, it weighs over 5,000 tons at takeoff. SpaceX has already invested over $15 billion in the development of the rocket. With the planned complete recycling of the rocket, i.e. the propulsion and upper stage, launch costs are expected to be reduced by 99 percent compared to conventional disposable rockets. With a planned payload of 100 tons in low Earth orbit, the Starship rocket is intended to contribute to the further expansion of the Starlink satellite network, flights to the Moon and Mars, and the development of data centers in space.

In addition to attempting a double landing of both rocket stages on the launch tower, the mission also included launching 26 Starlink satellites. This maneuver obviously worked. These 26 satellites have a transmission and reception capacity for Internet connections from space that is equivalent to around ten launches of the previously used Falcon 9 rocket with Starlink V2 mini satellites on board. Three of the deployed V3 satellites are equipped with cameras to inspect the heat shield of the Starship upper stage and transmit the images to the ground station.

The senior class is scheduled to return after 22 hours on Saturday afternoon local time. During this time, all rocket stage systems will be tested for a safe landing on the launch tower. Alternatively, there are several emergency landing sites in the oceans.