SpaceX called off the latest test flight of its Starship mega rocket at the last minute on Monday. The world's most powerful rocket was set to lift off from SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, but the launch was abruptly cancelled due to technical concerns.
There were "too many question marks", Elon Musk said, explaining why the launch had to be abandoned. "Too many question marks about this flight and then we were 20 bar low on ground spin start pressure," the CEO explained in a post on X. "Best to destack, inspect both stages and try again in a day or two," he said.
While no official rescheduled date was given, SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot said during a live stream that the next attempt could take place in about 24 hours.
This will be Starship's eighth orbital test flight and the first since a mid-air explosion over the Caribbean in January. The 403-foot (123-metre) rocket is crucial to Musk's long-term vision of making space travel more cost-effective and enabling missions to Mars.
A modified version of Starship is also expected to support NASA's Artemis programme, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded Starship following its last test flight on January 16, when the upper stage disintegrated over the Turks and Caicos Islands, leaving debris scattered over the region. Despite the setback, the FAA recently confirmed that SpaceX can proceed with launches before its final review of the "mishap investigation" is complete.
Starship's January failure forced airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to divert from their routes. Eight minutes after liftoff, SpaceX mission control lost contact with the upper stage, prompting streaks of fiery debris over Haiti. "We did lose all communications with the ship," Don Huot had said at the time.
For the upcoming test flight, SpaceX has made several upgrades to the upper stage to improve reliability and performance, AFP reported.
The mission, expected to last just over an hour, will once again attempt to catch the booster stage using the launch tower's "chopstick" arms - a move SpaceX has successfully pulled off twice, including in the last flight.
The company will also deploy Starlink simulators, designed to mimic next-generation Starlink satellites, which will burn up upon re-entry. While SpaceX eventually plans to recover the upper stage, for now, it is targeting an ocean splashdown off the west coast of Australia, as seen in previous flights.
