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SpaceX installs rocket-catching arms on Starship’s Florida launch tower
SpaceX has installed a pair of rocket-catching arms on a tower meant to support the first East Coast launches of its next-generation Starship rocket.
The company has been building the second of several planned Starship launch sites for more than three years. Ironically, work on that pad began before the company started building the pad that will actually support Starship’s first orbital launch attempts. Located a stone’s throw from the Gulf of Mexico in Boca Chica, Texas, the first iteration of SpaceX’s Starbase orbital launch site (OLS) is nearly complete and could host Starship’s orbital launch debut in a matter of months. SpaceX began constructing Starship’s Texas launch site in earnest in late 2020.
SpaceX broke ground on Starship’s first Florida OLS in late 2019. But the company went on to radically redesign the rocket and its ground systems, forcing it to entirely abandon about a year of work by the end of 2020. In late 2021, SpaceX finally began constructing the second iteration of Starship’s first Florida pad. OLS #2 is still colocated at Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A pad, which SpaceX leases from NASA. Pad 39A is the only site currently capable of launching SpaceX’s Crew Dragon astronaut spacecraft or Falcon Heavy rocket, which has complicated its plans to use the same pad for Starship.
The update that's rolling out to the fleet makes full use of the front and rear steering travel to minimize turning circle. In this case a reduction of 1.6 feet just over the air— Wes (@wmorrill3) April 16, 2024
Because of NASA’s trepidation at the thought of a Starship failure indefinitely delaying SpaceX from completing its Crew Dragon or Falcon Heavy contracts for the agency, the company deprioritized Starship’s Florida pad, slowing progress. SpaceX has, nonetheless, made significant progress. In 13 months, SpaceX has created foundations, modified one of Pad 39A’s giant spherical tanks to store cryogenic methane, installed miles of plumbing, built and assembled a second skyscraper-sized Starship launch tower, installed the legs of the pad’s ‘orbital launch mount’ or OLM, installed a water deluge system at the base of the OLM, assembled most of the OLM’s donut-like mount offsite, constructed a new supersized storage tank, and delivered a forest of smaller storage tanks.
Most recently, SpaceX finished building a giant pair of steel arms, transported the arms to Pad 39A, attached them to a wheeled carriage, and installed the structure on Starship’s Florida launch tower. SpaceX employees have nicknamed the arms “chopsticks,” and those arms are integral to what CEO Elon Musk calls “Mechazilla”. Mechazilla refers to the combined launch tower and arms, which SpaceX has designed to grab, lift, stack, and fuel both stages of Starship.
Mechazilla’s simplest part is a third arm that is vertically fixed in place but capable of swinging left and right. The swing arm contains plumbing and an umbilical device that connects to Starship’s upper stage and supplies propellant, gas, power, and connectivity. The tower’s ‘chopsticks’ are far more complex. Giant hinges connect the pair of arms to a carriage that grabs onto three of the tower’s four legs with a dozen skate-like appendages. Those skates are outfitted with wheels, allowing the carriage to roll up and down tracks built into the tower’s legs.
The carriage, which also carries the complex hydraulic systems that allow its bus-sized arms to move, is connected by steel cable to a heavy-duty “draw works” capable of hoisting the multi-hundred-ton assembly up and down the tower. Once finished, the Florida tower’s arms will be able to precisely lift, maneuver, stack, and de-stack Starship and Super Heavy even in relatively windy conditions. At some point in the future, SpaceX may attempt to use its towers and chopsticks to catch Starships and Super Heavies out of mid-air and speed up reuse.
Set to be the largest, most powerful, and most capable rocket in history, Starship is primarily built out of steel and designed to be fully reusable. SpaceX has a long way to go to demonstrate that the 120-meter-tall (~390 ft) rocket can reach orbit, let alone be reused. In theory, though, Starship is meant to launch up to 150 metric tons (330,000 lb) to low Earth orbit (LEO) while still allowing for the recovery and reuse of its suborbital Super Heavy booster and orbital Starship upper stage.
If SpaceX can achieve those figures, Starship will be the most capable rocket in history even with the major performance penalties that full reusability entails. Saturn V, the most capable rocket ever flown, was fully expendable and could launch up to 118 metric tons (~260,000 lb) into orbit.
Due to NASA’s concerns about the risks that Starship launches from Pad 39A could pose to SpaceX’s Falcon and Dragon operations at the same site, the company’s next-generation rocket may have to wait until 2024 or 2025 for its first Florida launch. With the first Florida Mechazilla now close to completion, it’s likely that Pad 39A’s Starship launch site will be ready and waiting as soon as NASA gives SpaceX the green light.
Just hours after Starship Flight 13 achieved a successful soft splashdown of its upper stage in the Indian Ocean on July 24, Elon Musk announced an ambitious next step for the company’s next launch of the rocket.
“Unless we discover problems after mission data review, SpaceX will attempt to catch the ship with the tower on [the] next flight,” the SpaceX CEO posted on X on Friday.
That “next flight” is expected to be Flight 14. The plan involves returning the Starship upper stage, commonly called the “ship,” to the Starbase launch tower in Texas and catching it mid-air using the same mechanical “chopsticks” arms that have already proven themselves with the Super Heavy booster.
Unless we discover problems after mission data review, SpaceX will attempt to catch the ship with the tower on next flight
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2026
A successful catch would mark the first time an orbital-class upper stage has been recovered this way, advancing SpaceX’s goal of full and rapid reusability for the entire vehicle.
SpaceX has already demonstrated the tower-catch technique multiple times with Super Heavy. The first successful catch came on Flight 5 in October 2024, when Booster 12 was plucked from the sky by the Mechazilla arms. Subsequent flights, including those involving Boosters 14 and 15, repeated the feat. Several of those recovered boosters were later inspected, refurbished, and flown again, proving the system’s viability for quick turnaround.
Traditional reusable rockets, such as SpaceX’s own Falcon 9 or Blue Origin’s New Shepard, land on legs either on land or droneships. Rocket Lab has recovered its small Electron first stages by helicopter, but those are far lighter vehicles.
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC), completed a catch of its booster on July 10. They are the only entity besides SpaceX to attempt and complete the feat.
Flight 13 provided encouraging data. The ship executed a controlled reentry, flipped, and soft-landed intact in the ocean after deploying Starlink satellites, offering the first clear post-splashdown views of an undamaged heat shield. The Super Heavy booster, meanwhile, experienced a harder splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
Musk has previously stressed that ship catches would only follow multiple successful soft ocean landings to minimize risk of debris over land.
If Flight 14 succeeds, SpaceX would take a major stride toward routine, rapid reuse of both stages—critical for lowering launch costs and supporting ambitious plans for lunar and Mars missions. For now, teams are reviewing the Flight 13 data. Should everything check out, the next Starship flight could deliver one of the most spectacular recoveries in aerospace history.
In a move echoing its earlier commitment to open innovation, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced recently that the company plans to make the design and software of its Model S and Model X fully open source.
This follows the same approach Tesla took with its original Roadster, releasing all available design, engineering, and diagnostic materials in November 2023 so that “whatever we have, you now have.”
Just as Tesla made the original Roadster design & software open source, we plan to do the same with Model S & X
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 24, 2026
The Model S, introduced in 2012, was Tesla’s first mass-produced vehicle and a groundbreaking luxury electric sedan. It offered impressive range, rapid acceleration, and over-the-air software updates that redefined expectations for electric cars.
The Model X, launched in 2015, built on that foundation as a high-performance electric SUV notable for its distinctive falcon-wing doors, spacious interior, and advanced safety features. Both models served as flagships that helped establish Tesla as a leader in the EV industry and popularized long-range battery-electric vehicles.
Production of the Model S and Model X was wound down earlier in 2026, with manufacturing ending in the second quarter. Tesla redirected the Fremont factory space previously used for these vehicles toward higher-priority projects, including Optimus humanoid robots and the Cybercab autonomous vehicle.
By the time of Musk’s open-source announcement, custom orders had closed and only remaining inventory was available.
Open-sourcing the designs and software offers several clear advantages. Owners of these aging but still capable vehicles gain better access to technical documentation, diagnostic tools, and software resources, making independent repairs and modifications easier and more affordable.
Independent repair shops and third-party specialists can support the large existing fleet without relying solely on Tesla’s service network. Enthusiasts and engineers can study real-world implementations of Tesla’s battery, powertrain, and software systems, potentially accelerating broader industry progress in electric mobility.
The step aligns with Tesla’s 2014 patent pledge and its overall mission to advance sustainable transport by sharing hard-won knowledge rather than locking it behind proprietary walls.
By releasing these materials now that the models have left production, Tesla ensures continued support for its early adopters while freeing internal resources for future technologies. The open-source release of the original Roadster already enabled simulations, community projects, and deeper technical understanding.
Extending that practice to the Model S and Model X should deliver similar benefits on a larger scale, helping keep these influential vehicles relevant and repairable for years to come
Tesla flexed one incredible Robotaxi metric during the Q2 Earnings Call that skeptics have to hate to hear. The company’s platform has already driven more than 380,000 miles of unsupervised ride-hailing across several states with no notable incidents.
During the company’s Q2 Earnings Call on Wednesday, Vice President of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, said:
“First of all, I’d like to state that the Robotaxi program has been operating extremely well. Especially in terms of safety, the program has had an impeccable safety record. We have driven more than 380,000 miles of unsupervised Robotaxi, now across six cities in two different states. We have had zero notable incidents. Any reports have been of other actors impacting us when we were stationary. I like to emphasize how safe the operation has been so far. Zero notable incidents over 380,000 miles.”
Elluswamy’s claim over Robotaxi miles is a significant milestone for Tesla in the grand scheme, especially considering this is a sizeable number of miles without any incident.
0 notable incidents across over 380,000 miles traveled by Robotaxi
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 22, 2026
Tesla’s self-driving approach is much different than that of other companies. Tesla has maintained that vision is the only thing needed to have a solid and effective self-driving suite. Many self-driving companies utilize things like LiDAR, sensors, and other elements to improve performance, but Elluswamy sent a jab at those who believe it’s needed.
“Historically, the so-called experts have always claimed that you need LiDARs, radars, HD maps, and the entire kitchen sink to drive safely. Here we show that such is not true. You can have safe, comfortable, and affordable autonomy with just cameras. This record should be a huge validation of Tesla’s entire AI approach.”
The feat of accumulating this many miles without any driver behind the wheel is impressive. The thing is, Tesla is also doing this across several different locations, with varying traffic rules, pedestrian levels, weather patterns, and other important factors.
While Tesla is not ready to roll out an unsupervised platform completely, it is a slow but steady indication that the company is well on its way to figuring things out.
The company’s attitude toward expansion is slow, safe, and controlled, and despite this huge milestone, it will still be some time until we see Tesla truly unleash unsupervised rides more aggressively.
SpaceX wants to catch Starship for launch 14, Elon Musk says
Tesla to open source Model S and Model X designs and software
