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Comment by Laremere | original | SpaceX catches the Starship to end Flight 15
[−]Laremere · 2026-11-15 Sun 09:26 UTC · link
The Starship is about twice as wide, and the chopsticks open quite wide. It's hard to tell glancing at pictures, but I think the chopsticks might actually have more catch area, though the rocket does need to be rotated correctly for the catch pins. Also, counter intuitively, it's actually easier to hit a precise target with a larger rocket: You're pushed around by the wind less, and the same impulse gives finer control.

The Chinese catcher is pretty cool, and seems like an upgrade compared to the Falcon 9. However with the chopsticks you're effectively landing on the crane which loads it onto a transport or even stack it directly back on the pad for the next launch (far more likely with boosters, though it could happen with fuel tankers I suppose). So I don't think anyone at SpaceX is currently sad they chose chopsticks.

[−]renehsz · 2026-11-15 Sun 10:22 UTC · link
How much damage do the vehicles or the chopsticks take during a catch, especially once they start catching the Ship too? It looks pretty rough in the footage. Not saying it's the wrong choice though, I obviously wouldn't know that, just curious