Background

SpaceX's Starship program aims to achieve full reusability for both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage. While SpaceX has made progress with catching the Super Heavy booster, catching the Starship upper stage represents a significant technical challenge that has not yet been attempted. According to recent FCC filings and SpaceX communications, Flight 9 is planned to be an orbital mission with the possibility of attempting to catch the Starship upper stage upon its return using the "Mechazilla" tower arms at Starbase in Texas.

Resolution Criteria

This market resolves to YES if during Starship Flight 9:

• The Starship upper stage is successfully caught by the tower arms (Mechazilla) at Starbase or any other catching mechanism deployed by SpaceX

• The catch must be intentional and controlled (not an accidental collision)

This market resolves to NO if:

• SpaceX attempts but fails to catch the Starship during Flight 9

• SpaceX decides not to attempt catching the Starship during Flight 9

• Flight 9 is canceled or significantly redesigned to no longer include a Starship upper stage

• The Starship is recovered by other means (e.g., ocean splashdown, parachutes)