SpaceX will ‘catch’ Starship #14
August 13, 2026
By Chris Forrester
A formal filing from SpaceX says that the Elon Musk-owned rocket company will attempt to return its Starship test flight #14 to its launch pad in South Texas, and to catch both the rocket’s main stage and booster with the launch tower’s ‘chopsticks’.
The details come from a public application SpaceX filed with the FCC, the US agency that manages radio frequencies. In it, SpaceX asks to use extra frequencies to talk to the rocket during Test Flight #14, which launches from Starbase, Texas.
The filing states: “The 1st stage booster will return to the launch site.” That is the giant Super Heavy booster flying back home to be caught by the tower following what is planned to be a full orbit of the Earth.
The launch – and return – is likely to be before the end of August but no date has been fixed as yet.
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