SpaceX launched a starship booster rescue operation, off the coast of Mexico. 8 months after losing it.
It is an unusual operation that took place this weekend in the Gulf of Mexico. Off the state of Tamaulipas, which adjoins Texas, fishermen spotted the presence of a huge-platform boat operating about 17 km from the coast. Passing nearby, they especially discovered what the machine was looking for: the remains of a starship rocket.
In a video obtained by the Mexican media Enlacemx Noticias, broadcast on July 19, 2025, we can see the shipping ship (it is the L/B Jill) and its three “legs” planted in the ocean background lifting a section of the Super Heavy, the main propeller of the launcher. Precisely, it is the lower segment, where the engines are located.
This operation was confirmed by Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, on July 20, the day after the appearance of this clip. “” The booster of the stars recovered at sea “, He wrote on X (ex-Twitter). “” It looks like the ruins of a dead civilization for a long time “He added, with a photo of the wreckage.
The presence of the ship l/b jill spotted just before
A few days before, the presence of the L/B Jill in Mexican waters had raised interrogation eyebrows, and agitated aerospace news aficionados. “” Possible rescue operation in progress off the Mexican coast », We read on Reddit on July 18. The NASA SpaceFlight site, which closely follows these subjects, was also on the spot.
The site had also got hold of the L/B Jill manifesto. In this one, it was explicitly mentioned that it was intended for ” Load one tonne rocket parts ». It is not specified if other parts have been recovered: according to Vessel Finder, the L/B Jill is on the border between the United States and Mexico.
Usually, L/B Jill is confined to more classic offshore activities, linked to gas, oil or wind. Due to its telescopic legs, the ship can be transformed into a stable platform – if the waters are shallow. This allows it to lift its structure above the water, while carrying out underwater work.
Occasional operations to recover the remains of the starship
This “rescue” operation of the starship remains is not really a first. Similar recovery campaigns have taken place in the past, especially for the engine section of Booster 11 (which was used for test flight 4 of June 6, 2024) and for the ring between Booster 12 and Starship (used during test flight 5 on October 13, 2024).
Here, the operation of L/B Jill was aimed at taking up the remains of Booster 13, which served during test flight 6 of the Starship on November 19, 2024. This test had to be an opportunity for SpaceX to retry a capture of the super heavy by the launch tower. However, the company had decided at the last moment to abandon this plan.
The booster had then been redirected above the Gulf of Mexico and precipitated in the ocean. The machine had nevertheless carried out a gentle hazard, before partially exploding in the water. The Super Heavy had then continued to float for a moment on the surface, still burning, before ending up sinking.
There remains at this stage an unresolved question: why did SpaceX decided to recover such a carcass, too degraded to serve? No certainty at this stage: willingness to displease the ocean by removing the biggest pieces? Concern to prevent others on getting their hands on it? Wish to conduct thinner analyzes on the structure?
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