According to CEO and founder Elon Musk, SpaceX is planning a notably different strategy for recovering its next-generation reusable rocket boosters. The company intends to “capture” the massive booster, presently under development, utilizing the launch tower’s arm, which currently provides stability during pre-launch procedures. Existing Falcon 9 boosters achieve landing by returning to Earth and using integrated landing legs – however, Musk explains that the objective with Super Heavy is to design a rocket that doesn’t require legs at all.

The Super Heavy launch sequence will still incorporate engine-powered velocity control during descent, but will also leverage the grid fins integrated into the booster’s structure to manage its orientation in flight. This will allow the launch tower arm to “catch” the booster, effectively securing it before it makes contact with the ground. A key advantage of this approach, which will demand highly accurate maneuvering, is the potential for SpaceX to reduce both expenses and weight by eliminating the need for landing legs in the Super Heavy’s design.

Musk also suggested that this method could enable SpaceX to quickly return the Super Heavy booster to the launch mount upon its arrival – potentially preparing it for another flight with a new payload and upper stage (comprising Starship, the other spacecraft SpaceX is currently building and testing) in “less than an hour.”

The development of Starship and Super Heavy aims to produce a launch system with even greater reusability than SpaceX’s existing Falcon 9 (and Falcon Heavy) systems. Musk’s ultimate vision involves frequent Starship flights – for Earth-based point-to-point travel, orbital missions, and extended journeys to the Moon and Mars. The speed at which he anticipates these flights occurring, to facilitate the establishment of a self-sustaining human colony on Mars, necessitates the rapid turnaround and reuse of Super Heavy, as outlined in his description of this new landing technique.

Currently, Starship prototypes are being built and tested in Boca Chica, Texas, where SpaceX has been conducting flight tests of the pre-production spacecraft over the past year. The company is also progressing with the development of Super Heavy components, and Musk recently stated that active flight testing of this part of the launch system is expected to begin within the coming months.