SpaceX calls off nail-biting catch attempt as booster splashes down to Earth
Jackie Wattles Ashley Strickland
By Jackie Wattles and Ashley Strickland, CNN
6 minute read
Updated 8:38 AM EST, Wed November 20, 2024
SpaceX aborted a highly anticipated booster catch attempt Tuesday during the sixth test of Starship — the most powerful rocket ever built — just weeks after acing the stunning feat on the first try. But the mission went on to soar through new milestones during a roughly hour-long flight.
The nearly 400-foot-tall (121-meter) Starship system, which features the Starship spacecraft stacked atop the Super Heavy booster, lifted off around 5 p.m. ETfrom the company’s Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas. President-elect Donald Trump was in attendance, joining SpaceX CEO Elon Musk for the event in another example of Musk’s increasing role in Trump’s orbit.