There's likely minimal value to recovering it given how much telemetry they already have, plus having launched very similar boosters (test flights 5 and below, plus Starhopper) for a similar launch profile. Additionally, based on previous comments SpaceX engineers have made when towing an in-the-water booster back to land, making it safe for transport to active commercial waterways is a huge pain in the ass. There's also considerations to be made for protection of intellectual property: much harder for other companies to steal your trade secrets from the bottom of the gulf of mexico.
I dunno, I’d be hauling them out and laying them on the beach next to boca chica like dead whales. We’ve gotta start our first spaceship graveyard somewhere.
They recovered the underwater remains of IFT4’s booster, or at least the business end. As I understand it, IFT4 landed in a relatively shallow area unlike IFT3, which was also in smaller pieces.
