Following a nominal ascent and stage separation, the booster successfully transitioned to its boostback burn to begin the return to launch site. During this phase, automated health checks of critical hardware on the launch and catch tower triggered an abort of the catch attempt. The booster then executed a pre-planned divert maneuver, performing a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
CEO Elon Musk has said that SpaceX will eventually attempt to catch both the booster and the ship next year, but the objective for this launch was to have a 'faster and harder' catch of Super Heavy.
Musk said SpaceX will do 'one more ocean landing of the ship,' then it will attempt another catch if that goes well. It appears the seventh Starship launch will have no catch attempt, either.
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