SpaceX eyes tower catch for next Starship after auspicious end to 13th flight - Ars Technica

SpaceX completed its 13th full-scale Starship test flight on Friday, sending the vehicle from Starbase in South Texas to a precise, intact splashdown in a remote stretch of the Indian Ocean west of Australia.
Unlike previous water landings that ended in fires, this Starship gently tipped over and remained floating, allowing engineers to fly drones over it for the clearest inspection yet of its heat shield after roughly an hour-long flight.
The ship's protective layer of more than 18,000 ceramic tiles endured re-entry temperatures reaching up to 2,600° Fahrenheit (1,430° Celsius) as it streaked back into the atmosphere over the stainless steel airframe.
Encouraged by the successful outcome, CEO Elon Musk indicated on X that SpaceX will likely attempt to catch Starship at the launch pad's tower on the next flight, provided no problems emerge during data review.
That next attempt would involve flying Starship on a longer-range trajectory, potentially into low-Earth orbit, before returning it to the launch site to be captured by the tower's mechanical arms as it slows to a hover.
SpaceX has already demonstrated a tower catch with the larger, heavier Super Heavy booster, though that vehicle returns at a much slower speed, making the heat shield's durability a central challenge for Starship's goal of rapid reuse and eventual multiple flights per day.