---
title: "Watch SpaceX Catch a Rocket’s Nose Cone With a Giant Net"
description: "SpaceX's Ms. Tree boat was able to catch a Falcon 9's nose cone, thereby preventing the fairing from splashing down into the Atlantic Ocean."
date: "2019-08-07"
modified: "2019-08-07"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/watch-spacex-catch-rockets-nose-cone"
categories:
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "falcon 9"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "the digest"
---

# Watch SpaceX Catch a Rocket’s Nose Cone With a Giant Net

![SpaceX's Ms. Tree boat was able to catch a Falcon 9's nose cone, thereby preventing the fairing from splashing down into the Atlantic Ocean.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/watch-spacex-catch-rockets-nose-cone.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Elon Musk via Twitter\</em\>*

## One Last Thing

On Tuesday, a [SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched](<https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tweets-video-of-spacex-fairing-capture-2019-8?r=US&IR=T>) from Florida's Cape Canaveral. Approximately 30 minutes later, it successfully delivered its payload — Israel's AMOS-17 communications satellite — into orbit.

Mission accomplished, right?

Not quite. SpaceX still needed to recover the rocket's fairing, the nose cone that protected the payload — and CEO Elon Musk just shared a [stunning video](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1158968745227780096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>) of his company doing exactly that.

## Muskvision

In the clip, a boat SpaceX dubbed Ms. Tree (formerly Mr. Steven) uses a giant net to prevent the fairing from splashing into the Atlantic Ocean, which could've rendered the [$6 million nose cone unusable](<https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tweets-video-of-spacex-fairing-capture-2019-8?r=US&IR=T>) or, at the very least, forced SpaceX to spend additional money [refurbishing it](<https://www.space.com/spacex-launches-amos17-communications-satellite.html>).

With a bit of help from the fairing's parachutes and small steering thrusters, however, Ms. Tree was able to prevent the nose cone from meeting a watery fate.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1158968745227780096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

## Winning Combo

This is the second time Ms. Tree has caught a fairing — it snagged its [first one in June](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-falcon-heavy-launch-success-booster>) — but that's not to say there haven't been many [unsuccessful attempts](<https://twitter.com/SpaceXFleet/status/1143424741514125312>).

In fact, it's taken SpaceX two year's worth of boat redesigns, trying various arm and net combinations, before landing on the current configuration — but with two consecutive successful recoveries, it seems this version of Ms. Tree is a winner.

**READ MORE:** [Elon Musk tweets spectacular video of a boat catching a SpaceX rocket nose falling from space](<https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tweets-video-of-spacex-fairing-capture-2019-8?r=US&IR=T>) \[*Business Insider*\]

**More on SpaceX:** *[SpaceX Aces Falcon Heavy Launch, Despite Booster Explosion](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-falcon-heavy-launch-success-booster>)*

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)