SpaceX scrubs launch of upgraded Starship from Texas, to retry Friday
The uncrewed test is the first flight of Starship V3, which SpaceX says is critical for Starlink deployment and NASA lunar missions.
- On Thursday, SpaceX scrubbed the debut launch of its upgraded Starship V3 rocket at Starbase, Texas, after technical issues halted the countdown; the company plans a second attempt on Friday using the same 90-minute launch window.
- SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed a hydraulic pin holding the launch tower arm failed to retract, preventing liftoff during the first test of the V3 configuration featuring 33 Raptor engines.
- Singer Nicki Minaj attended the attempt, which carried financial significance as SpaceX recently filed for an IPO after spending roughly $15 billion developing Starship to prove its reliability.
- The mission profile involves deploying 20 dummy Starlink satellites before the spacecraft performs a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean, with SpaceX not attempting to recover the booster or the Ship vehicle.
- SpaceX intends for Starship V3 to support NASA's Artemis 4 moon landing in late 2028, while the company announced that Chun Wang will lead a future private Mars flyby mission aboard a Dragon capsule.
145 Articles
145 Articles
At 0:30 Central European time, the next launch window opens for a fundamentally revised version of the world's largest rocket
SpaceX scrubs Starship launch with seconds to go
SpaceX called off the launch of its huge Starship rocket seconds before liftoff due to a ground equipment problem. The countdown clock reached a planned hold at T-40 seconds after a relatively trouble-free process. Some iffy weather had cleared, and everything looked good for the twelfth Starship test flight - the first try-out for the latest generation of the vehicle and launchpad. Alas, it was not to be. After repeatedly resetting the countdow…
A new version of Elon Musk's mega-fusée was due to take off, but at 40 seconds of launch, the mission had to be interrupted several times.
![[your]NEWS](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroundnews.b-cdn.net%2Finterests%2Ffb6dc495f74049f513563c33352175eaa0ecd509.jpg%3Fwidth%3D24&w=64&q=75){kind=small}
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 38% of the sources are Center
![[your]NEWS](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroundnews.b-cdn.net%2Finterests%2Ffb6dc495f74049f513563c33352175eaa0ecd509.jpg%3Fwidth%3D60&w=128&q=75)
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
