Musk fumbles the timetable for first Starship catch

Billionaire walks back earnings call optimism as orbital test approaches

CEO Elon Musk says SpaceX probably won't attempt to catch a returning Starship for several months, walking back his earlier suggestion that it could happen on the next test flight.

In a post on his social media platform, X, Musk said: "We will probably catch the ship with the tower in a few months." He added that if a tower had been waiting at sea where Starship splashed down last month, "it would have been caught."

During SpaceX's first earnings call as a public company, Musk was more bullish, saying: "We could possibly catch the ship as soon as the next flight." A few weeks later, that attempt appears to be off the table.

In his post, Musk also predicted that the "first reflight of the ship will be either end of this year or early next" – a timeline...

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