Elon Musk unveils SpaceX launch and catch tower for Starship Mars rocket (video)

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The "launch and catch tower" for the company's huge Starship Mars rocket was shown to us by Musk.

Musk shared a video of the tower on Monday, showing it backdropped by the testing area at Starbase, which is near the South Texas town of Boca Chica.

The ultimate goal of the tower is to stack the two elements, a first-stage booster called Super Heavy and an upper-stage spaceship known as Starship, serve as a launch pad for the duo, and catch returning Super Heavy boosters safely after a flight.
The Super Heavy rocket is being lifted onto the stand.

The catch tower is pictured.

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Teslerati said that serious testing began on the tower. Sometimes independently and sometimes in tandem, procedures have included opening and swinging the arms.

While the tower is being built, the company is preparing to launch a prototype spaceship and a Super Heavy known as Booster 4. The vehicle stayed anchored to the ground while it underwent multiple "static fire" tests to prepare for the mission.

The orbital flight date can't happen until the Federal Aviation Administration wraps up an environmental assessment of Starbase. The FAA recently pushed the target date back to February 28 because they wanted to complete the review in late 2021.
Booster 4 is supposed to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico a few minutes after liftoff, while SN20 makes its own splashdown in Hawaii. After several test flights that stayed closer to the ground, it will be the first spaceflight for Starship.

More testing of Starship should come quickly, with NASA selecting it as their lander of choice for astronauts participating in the agency's Artemis moon program, and a moon-orbiting flight booked by Yusaku Maezawa.

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