A heavy-lift semi-submersible carrier, Forte, has arrived at Christmas Island to retrieve SpaceX Starship 40 ahead of its transport to Starbase, Texas.

The Maltese-flagged vessel reached Flying Fish Cove late on Sunday evening and anchored within a few hundred meters of Starship 40. Loading of the spacecraft directly from the water began on Monday.

The 52 m-long Starship 40 is being transferred onto Forte by lowering the vessel’s deck into the water. Once loaded, the vessel is expected to depart for the United States.

The transport follows the recovery of Starship 40 after its controlled touchdown in the Indian Ocean on 24 July. The spacecraft spent 24 days at sea before being towed to Christmas Island, which is more than 1,500 km off the Western Australian coast.

Forte is expected to transport Starship 40 on a journey of about 17,000 km to Starbase, Texas. The spacecraft is due to undergo analysis by engineers after returning to Texas.