SpaceX delays 8th Starship test flight after last-minute issues

ISTANBUL

SpaceX has delayed the eighth uncrewed test flight of its Starship rocket on Monday due to last-minute issues, the space company announced.

The Starship was set to launch from SpaceX's Starbase in South Texas, US, carrying four mock satellites for a space-skimming test flight. The mission was scheduled to take place within a one-hour launch window starting at 5.30 p.m. CT (0330GMT).

The launch countdown was halted at the 40-second mark due to multiple issues, including an undisclosed problem with the Super Heavy booster.

Although the initial issue with the booster didn’t seem to cause a major delay, additional problems were detected, leading SpaceX to cancel the launch.

“Standing down from today’s flight test attempt. Starship team is determining the next best available opportunity to fly,” SpaceX announced on X.

“Too many question marks about this flight and then we were 20 bar low on ground spin start pressure. Best to destack, inspect both stages and try again in a day or two,” Elon Musk said on his social media platform X.

The company said that if the issues are resolved quickly, they could attempt another launch as soon as Tuesday.

In the previous test flight of SpaceX's Starship, the rocket broke apart minutes after launching from Texas, with debris falling back to Earth over the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Atlantic Ocean.