SpaceX Starship recovery at sea unlikely to succeed Musk says

SpaceX's attempt to recover the upper stage of its Starship rocket from the Indian Ocean is now unlikely to succeed, according to company founder and CEO Elon Musk. The spacecraft, known as Ship, has been adrift for two weeks following a successful test flight, but rough seas and challenging conditions have hampered recovery efforts.

The 171-foot (52-meter) upper stage splashed down in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia on July 24 after completing the 13th test flight of the Starship system. In an unprecedented outcome, the vehicle remained intact after toppling over and being hit by waves, providing SpaceX with an unexpected opportunity to study the spacecraft post-flight. Since the splashdown, the company's recovery team has been working to tow the floating vehicle toward shore for inspection.

However, the operation has faced significant difficulties. On August 7, Musk provided a pessimistic update on the social media platform X. "Unfortunately, ship recovery is not looking good right now," he wrote. He added that despite the setback, the team had managed to gather valuable data. "Nonetheless, we were able to obtain closeup photos of critical regions of the...