SpaceX launches giant Starship rocket, but aborts attempt to catch booster with mechanical arms

SpaceX on Tuesday launched another Starship rocket, but passed up catching the booster with giant mechanical arms.

Unlike last month’s success, the booster was directed to a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. The catch was called off just four minutes into the test flight from Texas for safety reasons, and the booster hit the water three minutes later.

SpaceX's Elon Musk said Wednesday via X that the booster catch was aborted due to lost communication with a launch tower computer.

At the same time, the empty spacecraft launched from Texas atop Starship soared across the Gulf of Mexico on a near loop around the world similar to October’s test flight. Skimming space, the shiny retro-looking craft descended into the Indian Ocean for a controlled but destructive end to the hourlong demo.