 "SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its Super Heavy booster is launched on its ninth test at the company's launch pad in Starbase, Texas, US, May 27, 2025. File Image/Reuters")
SpaceX aborted a planned test flight of its Starship rocket on Sunday night, halting the countdown just minutes before liftoff due to a problem with ground systems.
The scrub added to a series of setbacks for Elon Musk’s giant rocket, which has suffered repeated failures in recent months.
The launch had been scheduled for 6:30 pm local time at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in southern Texas, near Brownsville. Propellant loading had just begun when the company called it off.
“Standing down from today’s tenth flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems,” SpaceX said.
When it eventually takes off, the 10th test flight will be a pivotal step for Musk’s ambitions to send humans to Mars, and for NASA, which is depending on Starship to ferry astronauts to the lunar surface.
“The stakes are the highest they’ve ever been for a Starship launch,” said Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
“If they have another failure, they still have more room to continue iterating and trying, but they are running out of room,” Harrison said.
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More ShortsSpaceX has not announced when the rocket will fly next. If engineers resolve the issue quickly, the company could make another attempt Monday evening, with a one-hour launch window opening at 7:30 pm Eastern.