SpaceX explains why it canceled Starship 6 booster catch

During Starship Flight 6, SpaceX canceled the booster catch and now, it has revealed the key reason behind this last-minute abort.

On November 19, 2024, SpaceX flew a new Starship rocket from Boca Chica, Starbase Texas. The rocket used 33 Raptor engines to liftoff from the launch pad with a nominal ascent.

After stage separation, the booster transitioned to its boostback burn and headed toward the launch site. Unfortunately, the booster did not attempt to land between the launch tower arms. Instead, it was diverted for a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

Many space enthusiasts gathered around the Bay Area and coast including President-Elect Donald Trump went to see the catch happening once again but it didn’t happen.

Sixth SpaceX Starship Super Heavy Booster Slashdown into the Gulf of Mexico (Source – SpaceX)

The diversion is related to the fail-safe mechanism, which SpaceX has put in place since Flight 5. During the initial attempt, the launch tower, ground support, and booster were healthy.

That wasn’t the case with Flight 6 because the launch tower failed to meet the catch parameters and the company had to call it off this time.

“Automated health checks of critical hardware on the launch and catch tower triggered an abort of the catch attempt,” explained SpaceX in a mission overview.

On the other hand, the booster performed the final burn igniting 13 Raptor engines to slow down and splash in the Gulf of Mexico.

The company will see the launch tower and find the cause of the error to fix it and get back to attempt to catch up with the next flight.