Citing a technical malfunction at its Texas launch site, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has called off a scheduled Starship mega rocket test flight.
About 30 minutes before the intended liftoff on Sunday, SpaceX declared it was canceling the flight to “provide time to fix a problem with ground systems.” The corporation indicated it would try the trial again on Monday.
Starship’s tenth flight test was to have been the abandoned mission, but the project has encountered several roadblocks. While a static fire test in June saw the rocket explode on the launchpad, test flights earlier this year in January, March, and May terminated in midair explosions.
Rising 403 feet (123 meters), Starship is the biggest rocket on Earth and fundamental to Musk’s goal of establishing a human colony on Mars. NASA intends to employ a modified version of the ship for upcoming crewed Moon visits as well.
The deleted exam was meant to evaluate two phases of the rocket. Using a backup engine setup, the Super Heavy booster was set to separate at high altitude and aim for a gentle landing in the Gulf of Mexico. Starship’s upper stage would then have fired its engines to climb further into space, release a batch of mock Starlink satellites, and reignite an engine while on a suborbital path.
Although SpaceX still has big obstacles, a successful trip would have advanced us closer to total system reuse. Engineers must show Starship can consistently refuel in orbit and come back safely at reasonable enough costs to support its ambitious goals.
Notwithstanding the obstacles, SpaceX has vowed to keep up its fast testing program, arguing that creating revolutionary rocket technology inevitably involves mistakes.
