[AnimalMuppet]

Destroy a Starship on the pad? Possible. Destroy a Starship during ascent? That's much harder.

There are two problems: You have to have enough greater acceleration that you can catch it, and you have to have good enough targeting (and maneuverability) to actually hit it. Those are highly non-trivial problems.

[ben_w]

You don't have to catch it from behind, just put yourself in it's path and let Starship's own kinetic energy cause the damage with your own velocity being nearly stationary vs the ground at the time.

Aiming is one of the easier things: huge target, multi-gigwatt heat signiature.

[JumpCrisscross]

> Aiming is one of the easier things: huge target, multi-gigwatt heat signiature

You’re describing boost-stage missile intercept. It’s incredibly hard.

[ben_w]

For strategic use against ICBMs, yes.

For an extremely well advertised launch into a predetermined flight path of something which isn't even trying to hide its signature and where you can watch the livestream of the countdown?

Perhaps I'm still underestimating the challenge, but I think boost stage vs Starship is a much less of a challenge than boost stage vs. an actual weapon.

But yeah, given your background, if you say I'm wrong, I know to defer to you on this.