[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-spacex-plans-first-catch-of-both-starship-and-its-booster":10,"sections":44},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":34,"tags":35,"sources":39,"feedback":43,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":43,"total_tokens":43},11961,"spacex-plans-first-catch-of-both-starship-and-its-booster","SpaceX Plans First Catch of Both Starship and Its Booster","Musk put better-than-even odds on the next flight while conceding that success on these first attempts is not guaranteed.","SpaceX plans to try catching both Starship and its booster next month, with the aim of recovering the entire launch system for the first time, CEO Elon Musk said.\n\nMusk made the announcement during the company's third-quarter earnings report. If it works, he said, it would be the first time an orbital launch vehicle has been fully recovered. \"This is a profound technology milestone in the history of civilization consciousness,\" he said.\n\nHe also left room for failure. \"Success is not guaranteed on these first flights, but I'd say it's more likely than not that this succeeds next flight,\" Musk said.\n\nSome context helps here. Starship is the upper stage, the part that carries cargo to orbit, and the booster is the lower stage that gets it off the ground. Booster recovery is not new: SpaceX has been landing Falcon 9 boosters for years and has previously caught a Starship booster with its launch tower. Upper stages are the harder half, because they return from orbital speeds. Most rockets discard them, and the Space Shuttle, the best-known partial exception, still threw away its external tank.\n\nThe claim of a first is therefore credible on its face. The odds are Musk's own estimate, and his timelines have a history of running optimistic.\n\nThe phrasing is also worth a second look. He spoke of \"these first flights\" in the plural, then put his confidence on the \"next flight\" alone. That leaves open whether the plan is a single combined attempt or a sequence of tries, and the answer will shape how much a partial result counts as progress.","[\"spacex\",\"starship\",\"reusable-rockets\"]","2026-10-20T21:02:53.000Z","2026-10-20T22:16:57.016Z","2026-10-20T22:16:57.159Z","published",null,[24,30],{"id":25,"reviewer":26,"round":27,"reason":28,"status":29},"editor-r1","editor",1,"Remove the drafting-note language ('the source gives no independent check', 'The source leaves out the date, the location...') and replace it with plain reader-facing statements about what SpaceX has not disclosed; also fix the quote, which drops 'This is' ('This is a profound technology milestone...'), and either support 'October 20' or use 'Tuesday', since the source gives only 'Tuesday' and 'next month'.","resolved",{"id":31,"reviewer":26,"round":32,"reason":33,"status":29},"editor-r2",2,"Remove the drafting-note language (the clause 'a phrase that was also preceded by \"This is\"' and 'In the comments as quoted'), and quote Musk cleanly as \"This is a profound technology milestone in the history of civilization consciousness.\" Also drop 'November' as fact, since the source says only 'next month' and 'Tuesday' (or state it as reported), and cut the unsupported 'SpaceX has not published a cost per launch' line unless it can be backed up.","science",[36,37,38],"spacex","starship","reusable-rockets",[40],{"name":41,"url":42},"The Verge","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theverge.com\u002Fscience\u002F1014913\u002Fspacex-will-try-catching-starship-and-its-booster-for-first-time-musk-says",0,{"sections":45},[46,51,56,61,66,71,76,79,84,89,94,99,104,109],{"name":47,"slug":48,"count":49,"latest_published_at":50},"AI","ai",7045,"2026-10-20T21:25:22.000Z",{"name":52,"slug":53,"count":54,"latest_published_at":55},"Security","security",1021,"2026-10-20T20:25:00.000Z",{"name":57,"slug":58,"count":59,"latest_published_at":60},"Policy","policy",553,"2026-10-21T00:20:00.000Z",{"name":62,"slug":63,"count":64,"latest_published_at":65},"Deals","deals",538,"2026-10-20T20:17:07.000Z",{"name":67,"slug":68,"count":69,"latest_published_at":70},"Hardware","hardware",272,"2026-10-20T22:38:24.000Z",{"name":72,"slug":73,"count":74,"latest_published_at":75},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",257,"2026-10-20T22:30:00.000Z",{"name":77,"slug":34,"count":78,"latest_published_at":18},"Science",209,{"name":80,"slug":81,"count":82,"latest_published_at":83},"Startups","startups",137,"2026-10-20T22:24:15.000Z",{"name":85,"slug":86,"count":87,"latest_published_at":88},"Software","software",134,"2026-10-20T14:57:15.000Z",{"name":90,"slug":91,"count":92,"latest_published_at":93},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",119,"2026-10-20T13:00:00.000Z",{"name":95,"slug":96,"count":97,"latest_published_at":98},"General","general",91,"2026-10-20T23:04:19.000Z",{"name":100,"slug":101,"count":102,"latest_published_at":103},"Gaming","gaming",83,"2026-10-20T23:30:00.000Z",{"name":105,"slug":106,"count":107,"latest_published_at":108},"Reviews","reviews",38,"2026-10-20T12:00:00.000Z",{"name":110,"slug":111,"count":112,"latest_published_at":113},"How-To","how-to",8,"2026-10-05T09:00:00.000Z"]